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SECTION  II 
MIDDLE  ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


GENERAL    EDITOR 

EWALD   FLUGEL,  PH.  D. 

PROFESSOR    OF    ENGLISH    PHILOLOGY    IN 
LELAND    STANFORD    JUNIOR    UNIVERSITY 


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MIDDLE  ENGLISH 

HUMOROUS  TALES  IN 

VERSE 


EDITED    BY 

GEORGE  H.  MCKNIGHT,  PH.  D. 


PROFESSOR  OF  ENGLISH,  OHIO 
STATE  UNIVERSITY 


BOSTON,  U.  S.  A.,  AND  LONDON 
D.  C.  HEATH  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS 


There  have  already  been  published  in  Section  II 

The  Owl  and  the  Nightingale  —  Edited  by  Professor 
John  Edwin  Wells,  Hiram  College,  Ohio. 

The  Pearl—  Edited  by  Professor  Charles  G.  Osgood, 
Princeton  University. 

Early  Sixteenth  Century  Lyrics  —  Edited  by  Professor 
Frederick  M.  Padelford,  University  of  Washing- 
ton. 


COPYRIGHT,  1913, 
BY  D.  C.  HEATH  &  Co. 


f/* 

Ml 


I  WISH  to  offer  due  apology  for  the  elaborate  critical 
setting  provided  for  three  simple  tales.  It  cannot  be  as- 
sumed that  introduction,  notes,  and  glossary  will  add  to 
the  entertainment  afforded  by  these  stories.  The  justifica- 
tion for  the  editor's  work  lies  in  the  fact  that  these  humor- 
ous tales  have  a  serious  interest.  They  are  interesting  not 
merely  as  affording  specimens  of  the  language  of  an  ear- 
lier period,  but  as  illustrating  what  may  be  called  the 
comedy-relief  element  in  the  literature  of  an  age  that  pro- 
duced the  Cursor  Mundi  and  the  Ayenbite  of  In<vait)  and 
as  affording  an  idea  of  the  mode  of  diffusion  of  popular 
tales  and  the  use  made  of  them  by  literature. 

I  wish  it  were  possible  more  fully  to  share  the  pleasures 
of  the  chase  enjoyed  in  tracing  the  courses  followed  by 
these  three  stories.  The  hunt  for  sources  and  parallels  has 
led,  now  into  arid  compilations  like  those  by  John  of 
Bromyard  and  Vincent  of  Beauvais,  again  into  the  midst 
of  the  luxuriant  oriental  fictions  of  Nachshebi  and  Soma- 
deva,  again  among  the  fresh  folk-tales  of  Saxon,  Breton, 
Finn,  Berber,  and  American  Negro.  I  realize  that  the 
pleasures  of  the  hunt  are  not  easily  communicable,  but  it  is 
my  hope  that  some  of  the  trophies  of  the  hunt,  mounted 
and  arranged  in  the  introduction  to  this  volume,  may  have 
a  scientific  value. 

In  the  texts  of  the  present  volume  the  capitalization  and 
the  punctuation  are  modem,  except  in  the  case  of  proper 
names,  in  which  the  manuscript  form  has  been  reproduced. 
Abbreviations  also  have  been  expanded.  In  other  respects 
it  has  been  my  aim  to  reproduce  the  manuscript  texts 


093 


vi  preface 

exactly.  With  this  in  view  I  have  collated  the  proofs  with 
rotographic  copies  of  the  manuscripts.  The  glossary  aims 
to  be  exhaustive,  including  all  the  words  and  forms  of 
words  in  the  three  texts.  In  the  introduction  the  discussion 
of  the  language  in  each  text  has  been  made  brief  because 
of  the  full  lists  of  forms  collected  in  the  glossary. 

It  is  my  pleasure  to  acknowledge  courtesies  shown  me 
at  the  Harvard  University  Library,  the  Cornell  University 
Library,  and  the  British  Museum  Library,  while  I  was 
making  preliminary  studies  in  the  preparation  of  this  book. 
I  also  wish  to  acknowledge  suggestions  for  notes  received 
from  Professors  J.  M.  Hart  and  W.  Strunk,  Jr.,  of  Cor- 
nell University,  and  from  Professor  F.  Tupper,  Jr.,  of 
the  University  of  Vermont,  and  helpful  suggestions  in  the 
preparation  of  the  manuscript  as  well  as  assistance  in  re- 
vising the  proofs,  from  Professor  Fliigel,  general  editor  of 
the  series. 

G.  H.  McK. 

COLUMBUS,  O.,  June, 


contents 

INTRODUCTION ix 

DAME  SIRIZ I 

THE  Fox  AND  WOLF  IN  THE  WELL       .      .  25 

SIR  CLEGES        38 

NOTES 6 1 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 8 1 

GLOSSARY 93 


3|ttttotm:rtfott 


Or  me  convient  tel  chose  dire 
Dont  je  vos  puisse  fere  rire. 
Quar  je  sai  bien,  ce  est  la  pure, 
Que  de  sarmun  n'aves  vos  cure 
Ne  de  cors  seint  oir  la  vie. 
De  ce  ne  vos  prent  nule  envie, 
Mes  de  tel  chose  qui  vose  plese. 

Roman  de  Renard,  Prol.  to  Branch  IV. 

THE  HUMOROUS  ELEMENT  IN  MIDDLE  ENGLISH 
NARRATIVE  LITERATURE 

NARRATIVE  literature  in  English  before  the  Norman 
Conquest  expresses  the  ideals  of  an  aristocratic  form  of 
society.  It  is  rich  in  tales  of  heroic  valor  and  saintly 
fortitude,  which  are  uniformly  dignified  in  manner  and 
elevated  in  tone.  There  has  recently  been  brought  to 
light  evidence  l  of  a  taste  less  severe,  in  the  form  of 
comic  stories  preserved  from  oblivion  because  they  served 
as  material  for  experiments  in  Latin  versification.  But 
there  is  no  evidence  that  these  more  trivial  tales  formed 
a  part  of  the  repertory  of  the  dignified  scop. 

In  the  centuries  immediately  following  the  Norman 
Conquest,  literature  in  the  English  language  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  had  an  independent  development.  In  the 
main  it  reflects  the  fashions  prevailing  in  the  contempo- 

I   W.  P.  Kcr,  On  the  Historj  oftht  Ballads,  IIOO-IJOO,  pp.  IJ,  14,  and 
footnote.   (Repr.  from  Proc.  of  Brit.  Acad.  vol.  iv.)  London,  1910. 


x  ^Introduction 

rary  writings  in  French.  Hence  it  is  that  one  wishing 
to  find  the  source  of  literary  tendencies  in  English  during 
this  period,  must  look  in  French  literature. 

The  literature  in  French  in  the  period  following  the 
Norman  Conquest  was  much  more  broadly  representative 
of  the  different  sides  of  human  life  than  that  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  had  been.  If  we  narrow  our  attention  to  narra- 
tive, we  find,  corresponding  to  the  dignified  English  epic 
tales  and  legendary  narratives,  similarly  dignified  French 
Chansons  de  geste,  courtly  romances,  and  saintly  legends. 
But  along  with  the  Chanson  de  Roland 'and  its  class  and 
the  romances  of  Chretien  de  Troyes  and  of  his  school, 
there  flourished  tales  less  conventional  in  form  and  re- 
flecting the  gay  and  the  humorous  side  of  humanity. 

These  less  serious  tales  seem  to  have  owed  their  origin 
in  great  part  to  a  spirit  of  revolt z  against  the  rigidity  of  the 
ideals  of  chivalry  and  of  religion  and  against  the  stiffness 
and  formality  of  prevailing  literary  conventions.  This  spirit 
of  revolt,  which  in  lyric  poetry  produced  the  Goliardic 
songs  and  in  connection  with  the  liturgical  drama  pro- 
duced the  Feast  of  Fools  and  the  Prose  of  the  Ass, 
made  itself  distinctly  felt  in  narrative  literature.  Already 
in  the  Pelerinage  de  Charlemagne,  of  the  last  half  of 
the  eleventh  century,  there  is  a  spirit  of  burlesque,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  there 
came  into  being  a  series  of  literary  productions  quite  an- 
tagonistic to  the  contemporary  chivalrous  productions. 
The  gallantry  that  informs  the  lyrics  of  the  troubadours 
and  the  romances  of  the  Round  Table  has  its  counter- 
part in  the  keen,  often  savage,  ridicule  of  women  that 

I  Cf.  W.  Pater,  The  Renaissance,  pp.  I,  26. 


31ntrotmctt0n  xi 

forms  the  subject  matter  of  an  important  body  of  French 
satirical  writings.  In  a  similar  manner  the  reaction  from 
the  solemn  piety  of  the  saintly  legends  and  devout  tales 
leads  to  a  series  l  of  burlesque  writings  such  as  the  Mar- 
tyre  de  saint  Bacchus,  the  Miracles  de  saint  Tartu  et 
de  saint  Hareng,  or  the  Fabliaus  de  Coquaigne. 

This  gayer  spirit  manifests  itself  in  another  way  in 
the  attention  paid  to  the  more  popular  elements  of  con- 
temporary story.  The  trouvere,  no  longer  interested  ex- 
clusively in  the  themes  of  court  life  or  of  the  church, 
turned  his  attention  also  to  situations  in  every  day  life 
and  to  the  stories  of  contemporary  folk-lore.  The  result 
was  the  production  of  two  highly  interesting  sets  of 
tales,  the  fabliaux  and  the  branches  of  the  Roman  de 
Renard.  The  material  of  the  fabliaux  is  derived  in  part 
from  literary  collections  of  stories  used  for  conveying 
moral  instruction,  but  much  more  often  from  tales  in 
popular  oral  circulation,  whether  literary  or  oral  in  ulti- 
mate origin.  The  beast-epic  tales  also  are  derived  some- 
times, directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  literary  fable  col- 
lections, but  much  more  often  from  the  animal  tales  of 
popular  lore.  The  two  sets  of  stories  are  alike,  not  only 
in  a  similar  popular  source  of  material,  but  in  a  similar 
manner  of  handling.  Both  in  beast-tale  and  in  fabliau 
there  is  manifest  the  inclination  to  emphasize  the  human 
or  individual  interest  rather  than  the  spiritual  content,  to 
tell  the  story  for  the  story's  sake.  In  the  branches  of 
the  Roman  de  Renard,  instead  of  the  earlier  literary 
type,  the  fable,  which  is  little  more  than  the  concrete 
expression  of  an  abstract  idea,  an  animated  proverb,  we 

I  Cf.  J.  Bedier,  Let  Fabliaux,  p.  363. 


xii  3|ntrotmction 

have  a  new  literary  genre  with  distinctly  individual  char- 
acters; in  the  fabliaux,  instead  of  stories  like  those  of 
the  Disciplina  Clericalis,  or  the  exempla  of  Jacques  de 
Vitry  or  Etienne  de  Bourbon,  used  in  literature  princi- 
pally to  convey  moral  instruction,  we  have  stories  told 
for  their  own  intrinsic  interest,  edged  with  satire,  and 
embellished  with  much  realistic  and  humorous  detail. 
The  two  extremes  in  the  literary  tendencies  of  the  period, 
so  well  represented  in  the  two  parts  of  the  Roman  de  la 
Rose,  the  idealism  of  Guillaume  de  Lorris  contrasting 
with  the  cynicism  of  Jean  de  Meun,  finds  further  illus- 
tration in  the  similar  contrast  between  the  excessive 
idealism  of  the  Round  Table  romances  on  the  one  hand 
and,  on  the  other,  the  realism  combined  with  burlesque 
in  the  Roman  de  Renard  and  the  realism  combined  with 
satire  in  the  fabliaux. 

If  the  tendencies  of  courtly  French  literature  are  re- 
flected in  English  writings,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the 
literature  of  reaction  and  revolt  also  should  have  its  re- 
presentatives in  English.  The  number  of  such  produc- 
tions in  English  is  not  great  but  is  fairly  representative 
of  the  several  classes  in  French.  Burlesque  is  represented 
in  English  by  The  Order  of  Fair -Ease,  an  account  of 
an  order  of  monks  exhibiting  all  the  characteristic  monk- 
ish vices,  and  by  the  Land  of  Cokaygney  a  description  of  a 
moral  topsy-turvy  land,  or  mock  paradise, x  in  which  — 

Al  is  dai  nis  \>er  no  nijte 
tyr  nis  baret  noj^r  strif 
Nis  per  no  dej)  ac  eu^r  lif 

I  A  similar  theme  is  later  handled  in  the  seventeenth  century  in  u  An 
Invitation  to  Lubberland,  with  an  account  of  the  great  Plenty  of  that 
fruitful  country,"  repr.  from  the  Roxburghe  Ballads  by  John  Ashton, /Tu- 
mour, Wit,  and  Satire  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,  p.  34. 


3flntro8uction  xiii 

Nis  \er  flei,  fle,  no  lowsc 

In  clop,  in  toune,  bed  no  house 

J?«r  be]?  riuers  grate  znd  fine, 
Of  oile,  melk,  honi,  and  wine. 
Water  s^mip  $er  to  no  ping 
Bot  to  si^t  and  to  waussing. 

Of  the  beast-epic  tales  English  literature  before 
Chaucer  can  offer  but  one  representative.  England,  if 
we  may  believe  Mr.  Jacobs,1  was  the  ''home  of  the 
Fable  during  the  early  Middle  Age,  and  the  centre  of 
dispersion  whence  the  Mediaeval  -^Esop  spread  through 
Europe."  The  contributions  of  the  Englishmen,  Odo 
of  Sherington  and  John  of  Sheppey,  to  medieval  fable 
literature  are  well  known.  It  is  equally  well  known  that 
Marie  de  France,  in  her  famous  collection  of  fables,  and 
Nicole  Bozon,  in  the  beast  tales  of  his  Contes  Moralises, 
drew  largely  from  English  sources.  Throughout  the  Eng- 
lish literature  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries, 
for  example  in  the  Ayenbite  oflnwyt,  in  Piers  Plowman,  \ 
and  in  the  Gesta  Romanorum,  fables  appear  not  infre- 
quently. Further,  Lydgate  is  the  author  of  a  collection 
of  seven  fables,  and  the  Scotchman,  Robert  Henryson, 
composed  a  collection  consisting  of  a  prologue  and 
thirteen  fables,  which  in  interest  vie  with  the  tales  of 
the  beast-epic.  In  the  light  of  these  facts  it  seems  strange 
that  we  should  have  from  the  Middle  English  period, 
before  the  Noune  Preestes  Tale,  but  the  solitary  speci- 
men of  the  beast-epic  tale  in  the  story  of  Vox  and  Wolf 
included  in  the  present  volume,  and  that  the  other 
captivating  tales  of  the  French  Roman  de  Renard  should 

I  J.  W.  Jacobs,   The  Fablts  <>//£«/>,  i.  pp,  xvii.,  181. 


xiv  KlntroOuctton 

not  appear  in  English  until  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  when  Caxton  translated  them  from  the  Flem- 
ish. 

That  tales  of  the  kind  forming  the  subject-matter 
of  the  fabliaux  circulated  among  the  English  population 
we  have  evidence  in  contemporary  allusions.  Oxford 
University  in  1292  issued  a  warning  against  the  "can- 
tilenas sive  fabulas  de  omasiis  vel  luxoriosis  aut  ad  libidi- 
nem  sonantibus."  J  In  Piers  Plowman  and  elsewhere 
there  are  frequent,  usually  disapproving,  allusions  2  to  tales 
of  the  kind.  And  have  we  not  the  evidence  afforded  by 
Chaucer  in  the  kind  of  tales  assigned  by  him  to  his 
characters  of  lower  station?  That  many  of  the  stories 
of  French  fabliaux  not  extant  in  English  in  fabliau 
form  were  well  known  among  the  English  population, 
is  further  shown  by  the  existence  of  English  ballad  ver- 
sions of  the  French  tales.  For  example,3  the  English 
ballad  of  Queen  Eleanor* s  Confession  tells  the  story  of 
the  French  fablia u,  Du  Chevalier  qui  fist  safemme  con- 
fesse  (Montaiglon-Raynaud,  i.  16);  and  the  ballad, 
The  Boy  and  the  Mantle,  handles  the  theme  of  the  fa- 
bliau, Le  Mantel  mautaille  (m.  55).  Many  of  the 
fabliau  themes  also  appear  in  literature  in  various  col- 
lections of  stories  in  English.  Within  the  framework  of 

1  Cited  by  Brandl,  Paul's  Grundriss,  II.  p.  649. 

2  Piers  Plowman  (ed.  Skeat),  A  1.  48-50,  B  IV.  115,  V.  413,  XIII.  228 
ff.,  304  ff.,  352  ff.,CVII.  185-186,  194,  CVII1.  22,90-96,  CIX.  49-50.  Cf. 
also  the  allusions  in  Cursor  Mundi,  etc.,  quoted  below,  p.  xviii. 

3  Other  English  ballads  with  themes  of  the  fabliau  sort  are  :  Our  Good- 
man (Child,  274)  ;   Get  up  and  bar  the  Door  (275)  ;   The  Friar  in  the  Well 
(276),  cf.  the  later  English  fabliau,  The   Wright's   Chaste   Wife;    The 
Wife  wrapped  in  Wether's  Skin  (277),  cf.  the  later  English  fabliau,  The 
Wife  in  Morel's  Skin  ;    The  Farmer's  Curst  Wife  (278)  ;  and  The  Craftj 
Farmer  (283).  The  ruses  employed  in  The  Lochmaben  Harper  (192)  and 
Dick  o'  the  Cow  (185)  remind  one  of  fabliaux. 


3!ntroDuction  xv 

the  Seven  Sages  are  included  several  such  tales  in  verse, 
and  in  the  Middle  English  Disciplina  Clericalis,  the 
philosopher  makes  use  of  several  in  the  instruction  of 
his  son.  The  concrete  methods  of  conveying  moral  in- 
struction in  use  during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  supplied  a  use  for  humorous  tales,  and  the 
Gesta  Romanorum,  that  compendium  of  tales  ingen- 
iously, often  naively,  applied  to  the  conveyance  *  of 
moral  doctrine,  contains  tales  that  serve  as  the  subject 
matter  for  fabliaux.  The  narrationes  that  formed  so  con- 
spicuous a  feature  of  the  sermons  of  the  period  were 
not  always  grave  in  tone,  and  books  for  moral  instruc- 
tion, such  as  Robert  Mannyng's  work  of  forbidding  title, 
the  Handling  Synne,  contain  tales  that  are  decidedly 
diverting  in  character. 

To  the  superiority  in  vitality,  then,  of  story  collec- 
tions over  isolated  stories  and  to  the  concrete  methods  / 
of  the  medieval  preacher  we  owe  a  number  of  Mid- 
dle English  humorous  tales  in  verse.  But  of  the  single 
narrative  interludes,  if  we  may  speak  ofthefa&Iiaux  as 
such,  the  comedy  numbers  in  the  minstrel  repertory, 
we  have  few  surviving  specimens  before  Chaucer.  Such 
productions  were  probably  ephemeral,  only  occasionally 
regarded  as  worthy  the  parchment  and  the  labor  of  writ- 
ing. In  fact  the  name  fabliau  seems  to  have  stood  for  the 
transitory  in  literature.  Henri  d'  Andeli,2  in  writing  a  se- 
rious tale,  remarks,  "  Ce  poeme  n'etait  pas  un  fabliau  — 
il  Pecrit  sur  du  parchemin,  et  non  sur  des  tablettes  de 
cire."  At  all  events,  corresponding  to  about  one  hun- 

i  For  example  the  theme  of  the  Sir  Cleget  appears  in   a  tale  of  the 
Gesta  Romanorum. 
z  Bedier,  of.  cit.  p.  38. 


I 


xvi  jflntrofiuction 

dred  and  fifty  x  French  fabliaux  of  the  period  between 
1 1 5 9 and  1 3  20,  English2 literature  has  but  little  to  show. 
Besides  the  Dame  Siriz,  included  in  the  present  vol- 
ume, the  only  humorous  tale  in  verse  before  the  time 
of  Chaucer  dealing  exclusively  with  human  beings  is 
the  Pennyworth  of  Wit.  Even  this  story,  although  it 
handles  a  well  known  fabliau  3  motive,  handles  it  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  classification  uncertain.  The  em- 
phasis is  thrown  on  the  lesson  rather  than  on  the  inci- 
dents. The  characters  are  not  distinctly  portrayed;  they 
are  not  even  distinguished  by  personal  names.  Except 
in  somewhat  greater  fullness  of  detail  there  is  little  to 
distinguish  this  story  commonly  classed  as  a  fabliau  from 
a  dry  exemplum  or  a  barren  apologue. 

Somewhat  later  in  English  literature,  stories  of  the  kind 
that  formed  the  subject  matter  of  \hefabliaux  are  more 
frequent.  A  great  deal  of  emphasis  has  been  laid  of  late-* 
upon  Chaucer's  contribution  to  the  development  of  the 
fabliau  in  English  and  on  the  other  hand  to  Chaucer's 
indebtedness  in  narrative  art  to  the  earlier  writers  of 
fabliaux.  Besides  producing  his  fabliau  masterpieces, 

1  Bedier,  op.  eft.,  in  his  treatment  of  the  subject  includes  147. 

2  Several  of  the  French  fabliaux  were  composed  in  England.  Cf.  Bedier, 
of.  cit.  pp.  436-440. 

3  It  forms  the  subject  of  the  French  fabliau,  De  la  Bourse  Pleine  de  Sent 
and  of  the  German  metrical  tale  of  Ehefrau  und  Bulerin  (Gesammtaben- 
teur,  no.  xxxv.).  In  Middle  English  the  story  appears  in  two  versions  : 
a  longer  version,  A  Pennyworth  of  Wit  (printed  by  Kolbing,  Engliicht 
Studien,  vn.  in,  and  elsewhere),  and  a  shorter  version,  How  a  Mer- 
chaunde  djd  tys  wyfe  betray  (printed  by  Kolbing, /oc.  cit.  and  elsewhere). 
The  story  was  also  popular  in  a  later,  chap-book  version,  of  which  numer- 
ous editions  are  to  be  found  in  the  chap-book  collections  of  the  Harvard 
University  library  and  the  British  Museum  library.  The  latest  edition  that 
I  have  seen  was  in  an  Edinburgh  bookstore.  It  was  published  by  T.  John- 
son, Falkirk,  1815. 

4  See  the  articles  by  H.  S.  Canby  and  W.  M.  Hart  refcired  to  in  the 
Bibliography. 


31nttoDuctton 

Chaucer  seems  to  have  stimulated  the  production  of  Eng- 
lish fabliaux  by  others.  To  Chaucer's  influence  must 
probably  be  referred  Adam  Cobsam's  The  Wright1  s 
Chaste  Wife,  The  Lady  Prioress  and  her  Suitors,  for- 
merly attributed  to  Lydgate,  the  tale  of  The  Pardoner  and 
the  Tapster,  which  served  as  an  introduction  to  the 
pseudo- Chaucerian  Tale  of  Beryn,  and  the  Freiris  of 
Bcrwik,  attributed  to  Dunbar.  Besides  these  tales  with 
some  degree  of  literary  pretension,  the  fifteenth  century 
was  also  familiar  with  certain  more  popular  stories  re- 
lated in  subject  matter  at  least  to  the  fabliaux.  This 
class  of  <  bourdes/  as  they  were  commonly  called,  in- 
cludes the  tale  of  Sir  Corneus,  or  the  Cokewold* s  Dance, 
the  st  god  borde"  of  The  King  and  the  Barker,  and 
the  Tale  of  the  Basin*  Later  on,  also,  the  early  printers, 
Wynkyn  de  Worde,  William  Copland,  and  others, 
catered  to  the  taste  of  their  time  by  publishing  editions  of 
humorous  metrical  tales  in  the  form  of  booklets  or  tracts. 
To  this  means  of  preservation  we  owe  the  survival  of 
a  number  of  later  tales  of  the  fabliau  order.  These 
"  Mery  lestes,"  as  they  were  called,  include  the  tales 
of  Dane  Hewe  of  Leicestre,  the  Frere  and  the  Boy,  the 
Miller  of  Abyngton,  the  Vnluckie  Fir  men  tie,  the  Wyfe  in 
Mor relies  Skin,  and  How  the  Plowman  lerned  his  Pater 
Noster.  In  imitation  of  these  stories  the  youthful  Sir 
Thomas  More  composed  his  Mery  lest  how  a  Sergeaunt 
wold  lerne  to  be  a  Frere. 

Besides  the  beast-epic  tale,  the  Vox  and  the  Wolf, 
and  the  fabliau,  the  Dame  Siriz,  the  present  volume 
contains  a  third  humorous  tale  in  verse,  the  Sir  Cleges. 
This  story  is  not  easy  to  classify,  consisting,  as  it  does, 


xviii  ^Introduction 

of  a  humorous  incident  combined  with  a  devout  tale  to 
make  a  Round  Table  romance.  The  story  of  the  'blows 
shared '  is  of  the  kind  that  form  the  themes  of 'fabliaux, 
but  the  form  of  the  story  as  a  whole  and  the  spirit  in 
which  it  is  told  are  not  those  of  fabliaux.  The  story 
is  a  unique  specimen  in  English,  a  humorous  metrical 
romance. 

A  partial  explanation  of  the  smallness  in  the  number 
of  Middle  English  humorous  tales  is  to  be  found  no  doubt 
in  the  opposition  due  to  English  puritanism.  The  evi- 

\    dence  of  Chaucer  in  this  connection  is  well  known. 

i  Chaucer*  s  "  gentils  "  object  to  tales  of  "ribaudye," 
and  Chaucer  himself  apologizes  for  the  "  cherles  tale" 
of  the  Miller  and  promises  in  compensation  — 

.   .   .  ynowe,  grete  and  smale, 

Of  storial  thyng  that  toucheth  gentilessc, 

And  eek  moralitee  and  hoolynesse. 

s  The  author  of  Piers  Plowman  also  repeatedly1  con- 
Idemns  "harlotries,"   as  he  calls  the  low  stories,  at- 
tributing them  to  the  "deueles  disours."   Allusions  of 
a  condemnatory  nature  are  not  infrequent  elsewhere. 
The  author  of  Cursor  Mundi  says :  2  — 

As  ^eddyngis,  japis,  and  folies 
And  alle  harlotries  and  ribaudies, 
Bot  to  here  of  Cristis  Passioun 
To  many  a  man  it  is  ful  laytsom. 

In  one  of  the  lyrical  s  poems  appears  the  reference:  — 

J>ah  told  beon  tales  vntoun  in  toune. 

1  See  footnote  to  p.  xiv  above.    For  a  description  of  the  professional 
purveyors  of  such  tales,  see  Piers  Plowman  (ed.  Skeat)  B  XIII.  226,  237. 

2  MS.  Ashmole  60,  f.  4,  5.  Quoted    by  Halliwell,  Thornton  Romances^ 
p.  261. 

3  Harl.  MS.  2253  (ed.  Boddeker),  W.  L.  iv.  37  (p.  153). 


31ntroDuttion  xix 

At  the  opening  of  the  romance  OctQvian x  appear  the 
two  following  significant  stanzas :  — 

Bot  fele  men  be  of  swyche  manere, 
Goodnesse  when  hy  scholden  here, 
Hy  nylled  naght  lesste  with  her  ere, 

To  lerny  wyt, 
But  as  a  swyn  with  lowryng  cher 

All  gronne  he  sytte. 

And  fele  of  hem  casted  a  cry 

Of  thyng  pat  fallyd  to  rybaudy, 

That  noon  of  hem,  that  sytte  hym  by, 

May  haue  no  lest. 
God  schylde  all  thys  company 

Fram  swych  a  gest. 

Evidently  the  purveyor  of  reputable  tales  felt  the  com- 
petition. Ribald  tales  were  plentiful  enough,  but  they 
seem  not  to  have  appealed  strongly  to  the  class  of  people 
for  whom  literary  versions  were  produced  in  English, 
v  The  gayety  of  /'  esprit  gaulois  in  the  French  fa  bliaux, 
and  the  tragic  quality  imparted  to  the  Italian  descend- 
ants of  these  tales,  have  often  been  commented  upon. 
From  the  small  number  of  examples  it  is  hardly  safe  to 
draw  any  broad  generalizations  concerning  the  English 
fabliaux,  lit  seems  possible,  however,  to  discover  the 
influence  of  English  puritanism  affecting  the  quality  as 
well  as  the  number  of  English  stories.  •  M.  Bedier  2  cites 
one  of  the  French  fabliaux  which  was  composed  by  an 
Englishman.  In  thisfabtiau  of  English  origin,  the  broad 
story  of  the  French  Eourgeoise  dj  Orleans  is  provided 

I  Octavian  (ed.  Sarazzin),  South,  version,  stanzas  2,  3. 
z  Of.  cit.  p.  300. 


xx  ^Introduction 

with  chivalrous  setting  and  moral  tone.  We  cannot  say 
of  the  English  of  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth 
centuries  what  Tacitus  said  of  the  early  Teutons,  that 
no  one  laughed  at  vice.  But  we  can  say  that  it  was  very 
unusual  for  them  to  laugh  with  vice.  In  all  but  one  of 
the  humorous  stories  mentioned  above,  before  Chaucer 
and  after  Chaucer,  the  fun  is  at  the  expense  of  vice. 
The  one  exception  is  the  Dame  Siriz.  In  several  of  the 
other  tales  the  fun  is  coarser,  but  in  no  other  do  we  see 
a  representation  of  vice  triumphant.  One  of  the  greatest 
of  Chaucer's  literary  contemporaries,  in  a  masterpiece, 
Sir  Gawain  and  the  Green  Knight,  read  morality  into 
Arthurian  romance.  The  same  preoccupation  with  moral 
content  did  not  work  out  as  happily  in  some  cases.  In  the 
Sir  Cleges,  a  comic  incident  loses  in  humorous  effect  on 
account  of  the  serious  setting  provided.  In  the  Pennyworth 
of  Wit,  a  tale  which  in  French  and  particularly  in 
German  is  enlivened  by  boisterous  scenes  and  diverting 
details  is  quite  stripped  of  these  lighter  elements.  The 
tone  is  more  that  of  Wulfstan  than  of  Chaucer.  The 
puritan  spirit  is  obvious.  The  homelier  ideals  of  the 
middle -class  English-speaking  element  would  not  tolerate 
some  of  the  liberties  permitted  in  the  more  highly  cul- 
tured French-speaking  circles.  Perhaps  the  inferior  cul- 
ture of  the  English-speaking  class  helps  to  explain  why 
in  these  tales  the  moral  is  made  so  baldly  prominent,  why 
finer  weapons  were  not  used. 

The  three  stories  in  the  present  volume  will  serve  to 

illustrate  the  humorous  element  in  Middle  English  narra- 

l-tive  literature.   The  first  two  will  illustrate  what  may  be 

I  called  the  anti-chivalrous  element  in  medieval  literature, 


^Introduction  xxi 

the  kind  of  material  to  which  Chaucer  turned  with  profit 
in  his  later  years  when  he  was  emancipated  from  the 
formal  conventions  of  contemporary  chivalry.  A  real 
appreciation  of  the  work  of  Chaucer  demands  a  know- 
ledge of  the  cruder  beginnings  in  a  kind  of  writing  at 
which  he  excelled. 

DAME  SIRIZ  * 

The  story  of  Dame  Siriz  is  perhaps  one  such  as  the 
world  would  very  willingly  let  die.  In  fact  the  modern 
world  has  not  found  the  story  a  congenial  one.  A  story 
which,  besides  being  known  in  several  Latin  versions, 
appeared  also  in  the  vernacular  literatures  of  England, 
France,  Spain,  Italy,  Germany,  and  Iceland,  to  say  no- 
thing of  the  oriental  versions  in  Greek,  Hebrew,  Syriac, 
Arabic,  Persian,  and  Sanskrit,  a  story  which  had  a  place 
in  the  stock  of  stories  drawn  upon  by  medieval  preach- 
ers, and  in  the  repertoire  of  medieval  secular  story 
tellers  or  minstrels,  which  was  to  be  found  in  the  fable 
collections  of  Germany,  France,  the  Netherlands,  Spain 
and  England,  and  which  supplied  the  story  for  dramatic 
productions  in  Denmark,  Germany,  France  and  Eng- 
land, is  hardly  known  at  the  present  day  except  to  anti- 
quarians. ?The  theme  of  the  story  is  in  some  respects  ] 
repellent  tolKe  modern  mind.  Yet  a  tale  once  so  widely 
known  has  an  historic  interest,  and  the  history  of  the 
tale  in  its  migrations  is  entertaining  and  instructive. 
Moreover,  in  the  history  of  English  literature  the  story 

I  The  form  Siriz  'is  preferred,  because  that  is  the  form  used  in  the  title 
in  the  manuscript.  That  the  pronunciation,  however,  was  Sirith  is  proved 
by  the  rimes.  % 


\i 


^Introduction 

of  Dame  Siriz  has  a  claim  to  attention  because  it  is  the 
earliest  representative  of  its  class,  the  fabliau,  in  fact 
the  only  English  composition  designated  in  the  original 
title  as  a  fabliau,  and  because  its  story  is  that  of  the 
earliest  play  with  secular  theme  in  English  literature,  — 
according  to  Creizenach,1  *'  one  of  the  best  products  of 
the  medieval  comic  muse."  Such  considerations  may 
serve  as  the  apology  for  the  appearance  of  the  story  in 
the  present  book. 

There  has  been  much  controversy  in  recent  years 
concerning  the  provenience  of  popular  stories.  In  par- 
ticular the  theory  of  Benfey  and  his  school  that  India 
was  the  great  repository  of  popular  stories,  and  that 
from  India  stories  were  distributed  into  other  coun- 
tries, has  been  sharply  attacked.2  In  this  connection  the 
story  of  Dame  Siriz  is  of  interest  and  seems  to  be  one 
instance  in  support  of  the  theory  of  Indian,  or  at  least 
oriental,  origin. 

It  has  long  been  recognized  that  this  story  is  essen- 
tially oriental  in  character.  Reduced  to  its  more  general 
terms,  the  story  runs  as  follows:  — A  young  man  loves 
a  lady.  A  procuress  wins  his  suit  for  him  by  exhibiting 
to  the  lady  a  bitch,  usually  a  weeping  bitch.  This  bitch, 
the  procuress  asserts,  was  once  a  lady,  but  she  has  been 
thus  transformed  3  because  under  circumstances  similar  to 

X  W.  Creizenach,  Geschichte  des  neueren  Dramas,  I.  454. 

a  Cf.  J.  Bedier,  Les  Fabliaux. 

3  A  transformation  of  a  woman  into  a  bitch  appears  in  an  Arabic  ver- 
sion of  the  story  of  the1  Three  Wishes.'  (  Freytag,  Arabum  proverbia,  I, 
687,  quoted  by  Liebrecht,  Orient  and  Occidental.  378.)  A  similar  story  is 
cited  by  R.  Bassett  ( Rev.  des  trad.  fop.  xv.  150).  In  a  Turkish  story  (  Plai- 
tir  apres  la  Peine,  trad.  J.  A.  Decourdemanche,  Paris,  1896,  pp.  113  ff.), 
a  woman  is  converted  into  a  mule  by  a  man  with  the  power  of  sorcery,  be- 
cause she  rejected  his  love  overtures. 


^Introduction  xxiii 

those  in  which  the  lady  addressed  is  placed,  she  refused 
to  yield  to  overtures  of  love.*  The  idea  of  transformar 
tion  l  seems  to  be  rooted  in  the  oriental  idea  of  me- 
tempsychosis. 

A  priori  evidence,  then,  seems  to  point  to  an  orien- 
al  origin  for  this  tale.  Corroborative  evidence  is  to  be 
found  in  an  examination  of  the  facts  in  the  history  of 
the  story.  In  Indian  literature  the  story  appears  in  two 
versions.  In  the  Katba  Sarit  Sagara,*  or  "  Ocean  of 
the  Streams  of  Story,"  composed  by  Somadeva  Bhatta 
in  the  early  part  of  the  twelfth  century  A.  D.,  the  story 
appears  as  a  subordinate  element  in  another  story,  which 
itself  appears  in  various  versions  in  oriental  and  in  occi- 
dental literature,  the  story  of  the  man  who  has  a  talis- 
man —  in  this  particular  case,  a  red  lotus  given  by  the 
god,  Siva  —  by  which  he  may  recognize  any  unfaith- 
fulness on  the  part  of  his  wife.  In  the  story  of  Somadeva, 
four  merchants  undertake  to  test  the  faithfulness  of  the 
wife  and  have  recourse  to  a  female  ascetic  who  makes 
use  of  the  ruse  of  the  weeping  bitch.  In  this  case  the 
ruse  is  unsuccessful,  and  the  suitors  are  subjected  to  indig- 
nities. The  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  the  weep- 
ing bitch  incident  here  is  a  minor  one  in  an  independ- 
ent story,  and  that  relatively  this  version  is  not  early.  ! 

Another  Indian  version  3  of  the  story  is  the  one  in 

I  Transformations  of  human  beings  into  beasts  are,  however,  by  no 
means  unknown  to  occidental  literature.  For  instance,  think  of  the  story 
of  Circe,  of  the  werwolves,  of  the  Golden  Ass  of  Apuleius,  of  the  unfriendly 
stepmothers  of  medieval  story. 

z  English  translation  by  C.  H.  Tawney,  Calcutta,  1880,  vol.  I.  pp.  85- 
91.  i 

I  (Jukasaptatij  Textus  Simplicior,  transl.  into  German  by  R.  Schmidt, 
Kiel,  1894 ;  Textus  Ornatior,  transl.  into  German  by  R.  Schmidt,  Stutt- 
gart, 1899. 


the  $ukasaptati,or  "Seventy  Tales  of  a  Parrot."  It  is 
the  second  tale  of  the  collection,  and  here  appears  inde- 
pendently. In  this  version  of  the  story,  a  young  man, 
Vira  by  name,  loves  the  princess  £a9iprabha.  His 
mother,  Ya9odevi,  exhibits  to  (^iprabha  a  dog  which, 
she  asserts,  in  a  former  existence  was  a  sister  to  herself 
and  to  9a9ipnibha,  but  has  been  born  as  a  dog  in  the 
present  existence  on  account  of  her  chastity.  Moved 
by  her  fears,  the  princess  is  induced  to  grant  her  love  to 
Vira. 

From  the  (jukasaptati l  this  tale  seems  to  have  found 
its  way  into  the  Book  of  Sindibad,2  the  oriental  version 
of  the  Seven  Sages.  In  the  Book  of  Sindibad  the  second 
tale  of  the  fourth  vizier  has  affinity  with  two  tales  of 
the  Qukasaptati.  It  seems  to  be  the  result  of  a  fusion 
of  the  first  and  second  tales  of  the  Indian  collection.  In 
the  first  of  these  tales  a  go-between  has  persuaded  a 
lady  to  accept  the  love  of  a  suitor,  but,  unable  to  find 
her  client,  by  mistake  she  brings  the  lady's  husband  in- 
stead. The  lady,  with  ready  wit,  lays  the  blame  on  her 
husband  and  says  she  has  tested  him  and  proved  him 
unfaithful.  Only  after  protracted  supplication  is  the  hus- 
band restored  to  grace.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  first 
part  of  this  tale  is  like  the  second  tale  in  the  use  of  a  go- 
between,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  how  in  this  case 
fusion  might  be  the  result  of  confusion. 

Thus  combined,  the  story  of*  The  Go-between  and 
the  dog*  and  that  of  '  The  Libertine  Husband,'  itself 

1  Cf.  D.  Comparetti,  Researches  respecting  the  Book  of  Si n dibad,  transl. 
by  Coote,  Folk  Lore  Society,  London,  1882. 

2  For  a  table  showing  the  contents  of  the  different  versions  of  the  Book 
of  Sindibad,  see  Bedier,  Les  fabliaux,  pp.  136,  137. 


3|ntroUuction 

well  known  in  occidental  as  well  as  in%  oriental  literature, 
appear  in  all  the  oriental  versions  of  the  Seven  Sages 
except  the  late  I  Persian  Sindibad  Ndrna,  in  which  the 
two  tales  are  dibtinct.  The  various  versions  of  the  tale 
in  the  different  oriental  versions  of  the  Seven  Sages 
differ  among  themselves  in  details,  but  as  a  group  tell  a 
tale  distinct  from  either  Indian  version.  Perhaps  the 
most  striking  point  of  difference  between  the  Indian 
versions  and  those  of  the  Book  of  Sindibad  is  in  the  cause 
of  the  transformation  from  woman  to  bitch.  In  both  In- 
dian versions  a  woman  in  one  existence  has  been  re -born 
as  a  bitch  because  she  did  not  satisfy  the  elements  of  her 
nature.  In  all  the  versions  of  the  Book  of  Sindibad  the 
woman  has  been  transformed  within  the  present  exist- 
ence because : *  —  (  Syriac  version  )  the  young  man  < '  cried 
unto  God  concerning  her,  and  she  was  transformed"; 
(Greek  version)  the  young  man  "cursed  her  and  she 
was  changed  to  a  dog  on  the  spot";  (Spanish  version) 
the  young  man  "  cursed  her,  and  straightway  she  be- 
came a  she-dog";  (Hebrew  version)  the  young  man 
"  called  to  his  God  concerning  her,  and  she  was  turned 
into  a  bitch  ";  (Arabic  version  translated  by  Scott) 
the  lover,  a  Jewish  sorcerer,  enraged,  "  by  magic 
transformed  her  into  a  she-dog";  (Persian  Sindibad 
Nama,  of  the  1 4th  century)  the  lady2  had  been 
changed  into  that  form  as  a  punishment  for  rejecting  a 
lover's  suit. 

The  tale  of '  Go-between  and  Weeping-Bitch '  which 
occurs  in  all  the  versions  of  the  oriental  Seven  Sages, 

I  Cf.  Eisner,  p.  7.  See  Bibliography. 

z  An  analysis  of  the  Sjndibad  Nama  by  Prof.  Forbes  Falconer  is  in- 
cluded by  W.  A.  Clouston  in  his  Book  of  Sindibad ,  pp.  5  ff. 


3|ntro5uctton 

the  Book  of  Sindibady  seems  to  have  been  lost J  in  the 
migration  of  that  collection  of  stories  from  orient  to 
Occident  ;  it  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  extant  oc- 
cidental versions  of  the  Seven  Sages.2  The  oldest  west- 
ern version  of  the  story  is  contained  in  the  famous 
story  collection  by  the  converted  Spanish  Jew,  Petrus 
Alphonsus,  the  Disciplina  Clericalis,  and  it  was  usu- 
ally by  means  of  this  well-known  collection  that  the 
'  Weeping-Bitch  '  story  became  known  to  the  countries 
of  Western  Europe.  Petrus  himself  says  that  he  made 
use  of  Arabic  writers  (Elsner,3  op.  cit.  p.  24)  and  his 
version  shows  a  striking  similarity  to  the  original  Arabic 
version,  notably  in  the  fact  that  in  both  the  lover  falls  ill 
and  the  procuress  comes  to  him  instead  of  his  seeking 
her  out.  The  most  important  change  made  by  Petrus 
in  his  handling  of  the  tale  seems  to  be  due  to  his  aim  to 
adapt  the  story  to  a  Christian  public.  For  that  reason 
he  emphasizes  the  illness  of  the  lover  and  represents 
the  go-between  as  saying  that  the  lady  of  her  fictitious 
story  sinned  in  that  she  caused  the  illness  of  a  fellow  man 
and  that  for  this  fault  God  punished  her  (Elsner,3  op. 
cit.  p.  26). 

In  the  Disciplina  Clericalist  besides  the  significant 
modification  in  the  cause  of  the  transformation,  there  are 

I  Comparetti  assumes  that  the  loss  occurred  in  the  course  of  oral  trans- 
mission. There  seems,  however,  to  be  evidence  that  versions  of  the  Seven 
Sages  containing  the  weeping-bitch  story  were  not  unknown  in  the  West. 
Cf.  the  versions  of  the  tale  by  Herolt,by  J.  de  Vitry,  also  the  Dame  Sirix 
and  the  Italian  version  discussed  below. 

2.  For  a  table  showing  the  contents  of  the  different  versions  of  the  occi- 
dental Seven  Sages,  see  Bedier,  of.  cit.  p.  136. 

3  See  Bibliography. 

4  Two  modern  editions  of  the  Latin  version :  (i)  Soc.  des  Bibliophiles , 
Paris,  1825;  (z)  F.  W.  Val.  Schmidt,  Berlin,  1827.    In  these  two  editions, 
the  content  is  the  same,  though  there  is  difference  in  phraseology. 


^Introduction 

some  minor  modifications.  To  the  invention  of  Petrus 
are  to  be  attributed  peculiarities,  which  are  summarized 
by  Eisner  as  follows :  —  ( I )  The  husband,  on  his  depart- 
ure, trusts  implicitly  in  the  fidelity  of  his  wife;  (2)  The 
lover,  although  ill,  goes  out,  by  which  means  he  meets 
the  go-between;  (3)  The  lover  is  at  first  reluctant  to 
reveal  the  cause  of  his  trouble,  and  when  he  does  so, 
does  not  ask  for  assistance;  (4)  The  go-bet  ween  keeps  her 
bitch  without  food  to  make  it  ready  to  eat  the  mustard 
preparation;  (5)  The  go-between,  after  giving  the  lady 
advice,  craftily  adds,  "  If  I  had  known  the  love  of  the 
young  man  for  my  daughter,  she  should  not  have  been 
transformed."  Through  these  modifications  the  action 
of  the  story  gains  in  verisimilitude  and  the  characters  in 
distinctness. 

Upon  this  version  by  Petrus  Alphonsus  seem  to  be 
dependent,  to  some  x  extent  at  least,  all  the  other  occi- 
dental versions  of  the  story.  Eisner,  in  his  dissertation, 
has  compared  the  details  in  the  different  versions  and 
has  attempted  to  show  the  interrelations.  His  conclu- 
sions are  not  always  convincing  because  he  has  laid  too 
much  stress  upon  differences  in  minor  details,  which  are 
subject  to  change  at  the  caprice  of  the  individual  writer 
and  to  modification  to  suit  the  purpose  for  which  the 
story  is  used. 

In  the  history  of  the  occidental  versions  of  this  story 
it  has  seemed  to  the  present  writer  more  interesting  and 
profitable  to  consider  the  different  uses  to  which  the 
story  has  been  put  and  the  various  literary  tendencies 

i  Direct  influence  of  an  oriental  version  is  apparent  in  some  cases.   See 
below. 


31ntroBuction 

illustrated,  than  to  make  the  attempt,  necessarily  vain, 
to  show  the  exact  interrelations  between  the  score  and 
more  of  different  versions. 

In  addition  to  the  Latin  version,  or  versions,1  of  the 
Disciplina  there  are  prose  translations  extant  in  the  ver- 
nacular languages  of  France,  of  Spain,  of  Iceland,  and 
of  England.  These  translations  are,  in  general,  close, 
but  with  minor  variations  in  detail.  For  example,  the 
procuress  is  honorably  received  by  the  lady;  in  the  Latin 
version,  pro  magnae  religionis  specie;  in  the  French  prose 
version,  pour  sa  simple  conversation.  In  the  Spanish  ver- 
sion the  bitch  is  penned  up  during  its  foodless  period, 
a  feature  that  persists  in  the  later  Spanish  fable  version. 
In  the  Latin,  French,  Spanish,  and  Icelandic  ver- 
sions, the  bitch  is  given  to  eat  bread  combined  with 
mustard;  in  the  English  version  the  "old  wif"  gave 
to  the  "fastyng  hound"  "  brode  inowogh  with  anoy- 
noun  froted."  Such  modifications  in  the  story,  how- 
ever, are  exceptional. 

More  significant  in  the  history  of  the  story  are  the 
modifications  in  the  French  metrical  versions  of  the  Dis- 
ciplina,  entitled  Le  Cbastoiement  djun  Pere  a  son  Fils. 
One  of  these  versions  is  included  in  the  Barbazan- 
Meon  collection  of  Fabliaux  et  Contes.  The  'Weeping- 
Bitch  '  story  in  this  collection  occupies  148  verses,  and 
in  general  follows  closely  the  Latin  version.  The  most 
striking  departure  is  the  fact  that  the  young  man  in  the 
story  of  the  go-between  not  only  fell  ill,  but  died  from 
grief.  The  other  French  metrical  version  shows  more 

I  The  two  versions  extant  differ  in  phraseology,  but  do  not  differ  in  the 
details  of  the  story. 


^Introduction 

striking  features  of  difference.  In  this  version,1  which 
is  nearly  twice  as  long  as  the  one  just  mentioned,  the 
young  man  at  first,  not  content  with  messages,  tries  a 
personal  interview.  As  in  the  other  metrical  version  the 
period  of  the  dog' s  fast  is  three  days,  instead  of  two 
as  in  the  Latin  version.  But  more  important  than 
minor  differences  in  detail  is  the  difference  in  tone.  In 
this  longer  metrical  version  the  young  man  in  love  is 
made  an  exponent  of  V  amour  cortois,  and  the  extended 
soliloquies  of  the  young  lover  (vv.  57-1 19,  146-190) 
as  well  as  other  details,  are  quite  in  the  manner  of  the 
school  of  Chretien  de  Troyes. 

The  tales  of  the  Disciplina  Ckricalis  purport  to  be  for 
the  purpose  of  conveying  instruction  to  a  young  man. 
This  practical  side  to  these  stories  led  to  their  inclusion 
in  most  of  the  medieval  collections  of  exempla  intended 
for  use  in  sermons.  In  consequence  the  tale  of  the 
'  weeping-bitch  '  found  a  place  in  several  versions 2  of 
the  Gesta  Romanorum.  Of  the  version  in  this  collection  a 
most  interesting  feature  is  the  ingenious,  not  to  say  naive, 
way  in  which  the  author,  from  unpromising  material, 
has  drawn  a  moralization.  According  to  the  allegorical 
interpretation  the  chaste  wife  is  the  soul  purified  by  bap- 
tism. The  soldier  husband  is  Christ.  The  lover  is  worldly 
vanity.  The  go-between  is  the  devil.  The  bitch  is  the 

1  Two  modern  editions  :  (i)  Soc.  des  Bibliophiles,  Paris,  1825;  (2)  Ed.  by 
M.  Roesle,  Munich,  1899.  In  edition  (i)  there  are  388  verses  in  the  c  weep- 
ing-bitch '  story;  in  (2),  a  critical  edition,  there  are  368. 

2  This  story  does  not  appear  in  the  Middle  English  Gesta  Romanorum. 
It   appears,  however,  in  the  following  continental  versions  :  (i)  Edition 
publ.  by  Keller,  Stuttgart,  1842;  (2)  Edition  publ.  by  Oesterley,  Berlin, 
1871 ;  (3)  MS.  Colmar  Issenheim,  10,  fol.  32.    These  references  are  from 
Eisner,  of.  cit.  p.  26.  (4)  Lt  Violier  det  Histoires  Romaines,  ed.  by  M.  G. 
Brunei,  Paris,  1858. 


xxx  3|ntroDuction 

hope  of  long  life  and  too  much  presuming  on  the  mercy 
of  God,  because,  just  as  that  bitch  was  weeping  from 
mustard,  so  hope  frequently  afflicts  the  soul. 

Other  exempla  versions  of  this  story  are  to  be  found 
in  the  Preceptorium  nouum  et  perutile  by  Gotscaldus 
Hollen  and  the  Destructorium  vitiorum  by  Alexander 
de  Hales.  Both  these  somewhat  condensed  versions 
profess  to  be  from  Petrus,1  and  though  containing  some 
variant2  details  are  probably  drawn  directly  from  the 
Disciplina.  Still  other  versions  used  as  exempla  are  the 
condensed  ones  in  the  Sea  la  Cell  by  Johannes  Gobii,  in 
the  Promptuarium  exemplorum  by  Johannes  Herolt,  and 
in  the  Speculum  Morale  attributed  to  Vincentius  Bello- 
vacenses.  These  three  versions  Eisner  concludes  to  be 
derived  from  the  tale  in  the  Gesta  Romanorum,  mainly 
on  the  ground  that  in  the  Gesta  Romanorum  the  young 
man  in  the  fictitious  story  of  the  go-between  not  only  is 
ill  but  dies  on  account  of  love  denied.  The  first  and 
third,  however,  of  these  versions  profess  to  be  derived 
from  Petrus  Alphonsus,  and  the  version  by  Herolt  3 
agrees  almost  word  for  word  with  that  of  Vincentius, 
and  there  seems  good  reason  for  accepting  the  state- 
ments of  the  authors.  The  fact  that  the  lover  is  repre- 
sented as  dying  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  these 
three  authors  of  exempla  drew  not  directly  from  the 
Latin  Disciplina  but  from  one  of  the  doubtless  more 
popularly  known  French  metrical  versions,  in  both  of 
which  the  feature  of  the  lover's  death  appears.  These 

1  "  Alphigus  "  in  the  Destructorium. 

2  See  the  end  of  the  Destructorium. 

3  The  story  of  the1  weeping  dog  '  in  Herolt's  Promptuarium  is  credited 
to  the  Seven  Wise  Masters.  Cf.  T.  F.  Crane,  Exemfla  of  Jacques  de  Vi- 
try,  p.  Ixxvii. 


3Intro5uction 

three  much  condensed  versions  in  their  minor  details 
correspond  more  closely  to  the  metrical  versions  than  to 
the  one  in  the  Gesta  Romanorum,  notably  in  the  bitch's 
three  days  fast  in  the  Sea  la  Celt  and  in  the  personal  woo- 
ing by  the  lover  in  Herolt  and  in  the  Speculum  Mo- 
rale. 

In  addition  to  the  exempla  versions  thus  far  men- 
tioned, all  of  which  are  related  more  or  less  directly  to 
the  version  in  the  D  is  dp  Una  Cleric  alls,  there  remain  to 
be  considered  two  others,  in  which  the  relationship  is 
less  close.  The  first  one,  by  Jacques  de  Vitry  (no.  CCL.  ), 
is  important  because  early.1  The  most  striking  peculiar- 
ities of  this  version,  which  is  also  included  in  Wright's 
A  Selection  of  Latin  Stories  (no.  xiii.),  are  as  fol- 
lows:—  ( I  )  The  go-between  at  first  fails  in  her  attempts; 
(2)  She  bids  the  young  man  feign  illness;  (  3  )  The  bitch 
was  once  "  a  certain  woman,"  not  ft  daughter  ";  (4) 
The  young  man,  when  ill,  by  certain  spells  changed  the 
woman  into  a  bitch.  This  God  permitted  for  her  sin  in 
letting  a  man  die  whom  she  might  have  saved.  As  Eis- 
ner has  pointed  out,  here  is  a  mingling  of  oriental  and 
occidental  characteristics.  Oriental2  are  the  repeated 
attempt  of  the  go-between,  the  relationship  of  go-be- 
tween to  bitch,  and  the  use  of  spells  by  the  young  man. 
Like  the  western  versions  based  on  the  Disciplina,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  the  death  of  the  lover  in  the  story 

1  "  The  first  to  regularly  employ  in  sermons  exempla,  or  narratives  to 
instruct  the  people,  as  well  as  to  keep  up  their  attention  when  it  was  likely 
to  flag,  was  Jacques  de  Vitry,  who  died  at  Rome  in  the  year  1240."  —  W. 
A.  Clouston,  Popular  Tales  and  Fictions,  p.  1 1. 

2  That  the  oriental  version  of  this  tale  was  known  in  western  Europe 
seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  Herolt's  Promptuarium  the  tale  is 
attributed  to  the  Seven  Wiie  Matters. 


2flntrotmction 

of  the  go-between,  the  use  of  bread  and  mustard,  and 
the  fact  that  God  permitted  the  transformation  on  ac- 
count of  the  woman's  sin.  Peculiar  to  this  version  is 
the  advice  of  the  go-between  to  the  young  man  to  feign 
illness. 

The  other  variant  exemplum  version  is  the  one  in  the 
Contes  Moralises  of  Nicole  Bozon  (No.  138).  The 
striking  features  of  this  version  are  as  follows  :  —  ( i ) 
The  lady  wooed  is  a  demoiselle;  r  (2)  The  go-be- 
tween is  a  deablesse  ; 2  ( 3 )  The  lover  is  a  clerk 
who  had  long  wooed  the  demoiselle  and  who  paid  the 
go-between  for  her  assistance;  (4)  In  the  story  of 
the  go-between,  the  lover,  also  a  clerk,  died  of  grief; 

(5)  The  bitch  had  been  a  daughter  of  the  go-between; 

(6)  God  was  angry  and  transformed  the  daughter  into 
a  bitch;   (7)  The  go-between  at  the  end  remarks  that 
death  takes  but  one  life,  but  "par  baudestrote"  are 
killed  three  at  one  time,  "  sa  alme  e  deus  autres."    It 
will  be  noted  that  this  version  contains  some  3  of  the 
distinctive  traits  of  the  versions  based  upon  the  Disci- 
plina  version.    It  will  be  noted  also  that  in  several 
respects   the  version  is  independent.    The  distinctive 
peculiarities  of  this  version,  however,  do  not  seem  to  be 
due  to  the  influence  of  the  oriental  versions.    Most  in- 
teresting for  the  purpose  of  the  present  volume  is  the 
fact  that  the  lover's  part  is  played  by  a  clerk  who  has 

I  In  this  respect  like  the  English  Interludium. 

1  In  the  play  of  Hansen,  the  go-between,  before  making  use  of  the 
weeping-bitch  device,  has  sent  a  devil  to  the  lady  in  vain.  At  the  end  of 
the  version  in  the  Destructorium,  allusion  is  made  to  the  fact  that  the  lady 
has  successfully  resisted  a  devil.  In  the  "  Metrical  Tales  of  Adolfus,"  the 
go-between  is  referred  to  as  tl  Daemonis  adjutrix." 

3  The  death  of  the  lover,  and  the  transformation  by  God. 


31ntroDuctton 

wooed  the  lady  in  vain,  a  feature  which  appears  else- 
where only  in  the  Dame  Siriz  and  the  related  Inter- 
Indium*  and  in  the  late  Latin2  version.  It  is  well 
known  that  Nicole  Bozon  in  his  collection  of  stories 
drew  freely  from  English  popular  sources,  and  it  seems 
not  improbable  that  this  feature  of  this  eclectic  version 
may  be  related  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  English 
fabliau  version  or  to  the  English  dramatic  version  upon 
which  \htfabliau  is  based. 

About  the  time  of  the  invention  of  printing  the  sto- 
ries of  the  Disciplina  Clericalis  were  introduced  into 
the  European  book  of  ^Esop.  About  1480  Heinrich 
Stainhowel  made  a  fable  collection  in  German  and 
Latin  including,  besides  fables  proper  collected  from 
various  sources,  also  "fabulae  collectae"  comprising 
the  stories  of  the  Disciplina  Clericalis  and  the  Facetiae 
of  Poggio.  Versions  of  this  fable  collection  appeared  in 
Italian,  French,  Spanish,  Dutch,  and  English.  In  this 
way  the  tale  of  the  '  weeping-bitch  *  found  a  place  in 
European  fable  collections,  and  the  version  of  the  story 
in  Caxton's  'Fables  of  jEsop'  is  the  earliest  printed 
version  in  English.  The  form  of  the  story  in  the  dif- 
ferent fable  versions  does  not  differ  save  in  minor  de- 
tails. It  seems  to  have  been  derived  from  Petrus  Al- 
phonsus,  but  indirectly.  In  minor  details  it  resembles 
more  the  story  as  told  in  the  expanded  French  metri- 
cal version,  which  no  doubt  was  more  popularly 
known.  For  example,  the  young  man  makes  direct  suit 

I  Bozon's  version  agrees  with  that  of  the  Interludium  in  that  the  lover 
is  a  clerk,  the  lady  a  maiden.  Is  it  not  probable  that  Bozon's  tale  offers 
a  condensed  form  of  the  tale  of  which  the  fragmentary  Interludium  gives 
the  first  part? 

z  Published  by  Tobler.     See  Bibliography. 


xxxiv  3]ttttODUCttOtt 

to  the  lady,  the  period  of  the  dog's  fast  is  three  days, 
the  young  man  in  the  story  of  the  go-between  dies. 
In  still  another  respect  it  resembles  the  roman  cortois  * 
rather  than  the  moral  tale,  in  that  instead  of  God  it  is 
the  gods  that,  from  pity  for  the  lover,  turn  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  go-between  into  a  bitch.  An  interesting  feat- 
ure of  Caxton's  version  is  that  the  woman  is  converted 
into  a  cat,  probably  due  to  one  of  Caxton's  character- 
istic blunders  in  translation,  the  Latin  catella  being 
mistaken  for  '  cat. ' 

This  tale,  which  was  included  by  Caxton  in  his 
^Esop,  did  not  find  a  permanent  place  in  English  fable 
collections.  It  does  not  appear  in  the  Wynkyn  de 
Worde  collection  of  1503.  Nor  does  it  appear  in  the 
later  collection  by  Bullokar  in  1585,  nor  in  the  later 
collections  by  Ogilby,  by  L*  Estrange,  and  by  Croxall. 

The  story  of  the  '  weeping-bitch '  appears  in  an 
interesting  guise  in  the  Metrical  Tales  of  Adolfus 
(Fabula  V.).  Here  again  is  evident  the  influence  of 
contemporary  literary  fashions.  The  story,  in  Latin 
verse,  though  condensed,  is  told  in  an  elaborate  and 
artificial  style  and  is  filled  with  classical  allusions  and 
comparisons.  In  this  version  it  is  Venus,2  "  a Ima  Cy- 
pris,"  the  protector  of  the  true  lover,  that  transforms 
the  daughter  of  the  go-between. 

That  our  story  was  in  popular  oral  circulation  seems 
to  be  proved  by  a  late  Latin  version  recently  published 
by  Tobler.3  This  Latin  version,*  according  to  Tobler, 

I  Cf.  p.  xxix. 

z  Similarly  in  the  Fastnachtipiel  of  Hans  Sachs  it  is  the  goddess  Venus 
that  punishes  the  hard-hearted  lady  by  transformation. 
J  Zt.  f.  rom.  Phil.  x.  476-480. 
4  This  version  in  the  manuscript  follows  a  translation  of  the  4  elegiac 


3|ntrotmctton 

seems  to  have  been  taken  down  from  oral  transmission, 
and  the  language  seems  to  indicate  a  Venetian  origin. 
This  version  has  a  number  of  interesting  variations 
from  the  common  forms  of  the  story,  variations  such 
as  one  might  expect  in  a  popular  tale.  The  bitch  in 
this  story  is  a  "  ki$o!a,"  which  the  go-between  takes 
from  her  bosom  and  puts  in  her  lap.  No  mention  is 
made  of  the  dog's  tears.  The  lady  asks  the  old  woman 
where  she  got  so  fine  a  dog.  The  old  woman  bids  her 
not  to  ask  because  it  grieves  her,  but  at  length  she  is 
prevailed  upon  and  weepingly  tells  that  the  ki$ola  was 
her  daughter,  transformed  by  a  young  man  because  she 
had  spurned  his  love.  In  this  story  the  lover  is  a  clerk 
as  in  the  Dame  Siriz  and  the  exemplum  of  Nicole  Bozon. 

Further  proof,  if  further  proof  were  needed,  of  the 
universal  diffusion  of  this  tale  is  afforded  by  the  num- 
ber of  dramatic  I  handlings  of  the  theme.  In  Den- 
mark2 a  farce  was  made  from  this  story;  in  France 
Gringoire  used  it  in  Les  Fantaisies  de  Mere  Sotte;  3  in 
Germany  Hans  Sachs  used  it  as  the  theme  of  one  of 
his  Fastnacbtspiele ;  finally  in  England  it  supplies  the 
story  for  the  fragmentary  Interludium  de  Clerico  et 
Puella. 

This  Middle  English  interlude  is  so  closely  related 

comedy '  Pamphilus,  and  itself  resembles  another  *  elegiac  comedy  '  by 
one  Jacobus.  Perhaps  it  retells  the  story  of  an  Italian-Latin  comedy. 

1  Tales  of  lovers  and   go-betweens  are  handled  in  the  Latin  elegiac 
comedies  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  In  one  of  these  the  lover 
is  a  priest  and  the  lady  a  married  woman.  (C.  F.    Gayley,  Repr.   Engl. 
Comedies,  N.  Y.,  1903,  p.  xvii.)    But  in  none  of  these  does  the  weeping- 
bitch  appear.  (Cf.  W.  Creizenach,  Gesch.  des  neueren  Dramas^  I.  26-42. ) 

2  See  Bibliography,  Christiern  Hansen's  Komedier. 

3  This  version,  which  is  cited  by  Eisner  from  a  manuscript  in  the  Biblio- 
theque  Nationals,  does  not  appear  in  the   Elzevir  edition  of  the  works  of 
Gringoire,  and  has  not  been  seen  by  the  present  writer. 


3|ntroDuction 

to  the  English  fabliau  that  the  two  cannot  conven- 
iently be  treated  apart.  Hence  we  proceed  directly 
to  the  English  fabliau  of  Dame  Siriz.  In  one  or 
two  instances  it  has  already  been  pointed  out  that 
there  is  evidence  that  the  Book  of  Sindibad  version  of 
the  weeping-bitch  story  was  not  entirely  unknown  in 
Western  Europe.  Very  conclusive  evidence  to  that 
effect  is  afforded  by  the  English  Dame  Siriz.  This 
story  in  its  general  outline  follows  the  oriental  versions 
of  the  Book  of  Sindiblid.  In  the  first  place  is  to  be 
noted  the  absence  of  all  five  traits  mentioned  above  as 
distinctive  of  the  version  in  the  Disciplina  Clericalis. 
So  well  known  a  tale  as  the  one  in  the  Disciplina  can 
hardly  have  been  unknown  to  the  author  of  the  <  Dame 
Siriz,  and  in  certain  minor  details,  for  instance  the  use 
of  mustard,  the  influence  of  the  Disciplina  version  is 
evident.  But  the  essential  details  of  the  Dame  Siriz 
are  like  those  of  the  oriental  versions.  A  more  close 
examination  of  the  oriental  versions  shows  that  the  ver- 
sion of  the  Book  of  Sindibad  to  which  the  Da  me  Siriz 
is  most  closely  related  is  the  Greek  Syntipas.  Eisner 
has  shown  the  following  points  of  agreement  between 
the  English  tale  and  the  one  in  the  Greek  Syntipas :  — 
(i)  The  lover  woos  personally;  (2)  The  rejected 
lover  does  not  become  ill;  (3)  The  lover  calls  on  the 
go-between  for  assistance;  (4)  The  go-between  pro- 
ceeds to  work  without  delay;  (5)  The  go-between 
gives  the  bitch  pepper  (in  Dame  Siriz  both  pepper 
and  mustard);  (6)  The  bitch  is  said  to  be  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  go-between;  (7)  This  daughter  has  been 
willing  to  love  only  her  husband;  (8)  The  rejected 


3|ntroimction 

lover  has  revenged  himself.  To  these  features,  common 
to  the  English  and  the  Greek  versions,  may  be  added 
the  fact  that  in  the  English  version  the  husband  is  a 
merchant,  a  feature  that  appears  in  the  Hebrew  and 
other  oriental  versions,  though  not  explicitly  mentioned 
in  the  Syntipas. 

The  English  Dame  Siriz,  then,  differs  from  most 
/  other  western  versions  of  the  tale  in  that  it  is  based 
/  directly  on  an  oriental  version  of  the  story.  Other  pe- 
!  culiarities  of  this  version  are  due  to  the  literary  genre  to 
which  it  belongs.  If  in  the  expanded  French  metrical 
version  the  story  is  colored  by  the  sentiment  of  courtly 
love,  and  if  in  the  Metrical  Tales  of  Adolf  us  the  con- 
ventional and  artificial  form  of  Ovid's  tales  is  given  to 
the  story,  in  this  English  version  the  story,  as  the  title 
informs  us,  is  told  as  a  fabliau,  characterized  by  humor 
and  satire.  The  relation  of  this  English  tale  to  its  ex- 
empla  congeners  is  much  that  of  a  beast-epic  tale  to  a 
fable  version  of  the  same  story.  Emphasis  is  laid  on  the 
living  elements  of  the  story.  The  dramatis  personae 
are  no  longer  merely  a  young  man,  a  chaste  wife  and 
an  old  woman,  but  Wilekin,  Margeri,  and  Dame  Siriz, 
whose  characters  are  revealed  by  means  of  realistic  dia- 
logue. In  the  longer  French  metrical  version  stress  is 
laid  on  the  love  sensations  of  the  young  man;  in  the 
fabliau,  stress  is  laid  on  the  ruse  by  which  the  go-between 
accomplishes  her  purpose,  and  upon  her  dissembling, 
hypocritical  character.  Characteristic  of  ti& fabliau  is  the 
fact  that  the  lover  is  a  clerk,  whom  the  medieval  satirical 
writers  of  fabliaux  are  fond  of  introducing  into  such  situ- 
ations. The  central  figure  in  the  English  story  is  not  the 


3Introtmetion 

lover,  but  Dame  Siriz  herself,  and  the  gradual  disclos- 
ure of  her  character,  from  the  dissimulation  of  her 
first  words  to  the  hilarity  of  her  language  at  the  end, 
is  cleverly  brought  about.  The  character  of  the  wife 
Margeri  is  but  dimly  revealed.  It  may  be  remarked  in 
passing  that  in  her  character  the  author  offers  an  enigma 
not  unlike  that  which  Chaucer  has  left  in  the  character 
of  Criseyde. 

A  feature  of  the  Dame  Siriz  that  cannot  fail  to  at- 
tract attention  is  the  amount  of  dialogue.  More  than  one 
fourth  of  the  whole  poem  is  taken  up  with  the  dialogue 
between  the  clerk,  Wilekin,  and  the  wife,  Margeri, 
an  amount  of  space  quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  im- 
portance of  this  preliminary  dialogue  to  the  action  of  the 
story.  Furthermore  it  has  been  pointed  out1  that  in  the 
whole  poem,  apart  from  a  narrative  introduction  of  24 
verses,  there  are  but  33  narrative  verses  to  403  verses  in 
dialogue.  Within  the  individual  scenes  there  are  but  3 
narrative  lines.  The  transitions  in  the  dialogue  from  one 
speaker  to  another  are  not  usually  marked.  For  instance, 
no  explanation  is  given  when  Dame  Siriz  from  speaking 
to  Wilekin  turns  to  address  the  bitch.  It  is  to  be  noted 
further  that  the  last  six  lines  of  the  poem,  spoken  by 
Dame  Siriz,  sound  like  an  epilogue.  From  reasons  such 
as  these,  W.  Heuser  has  concluded,  correctly  it  seems, 
that  the  fabliau  is  based  upon  an  original  interlude,  to 
which  have  been  added  a  short  introduction  and  a  few 
narrative  interpolations  scarcely  more  than  stage  di- 
rections. * 

This  brings  up  the  question  concerning  the  relation- 

I  W.  Heuser,  Anglia,  xxx.'  306-319. 


31ntroDuction 

ship  of  the  Dame  Siriz  to  the  fragmentary  Inter  Indium 
De  Clerico  et  Puella.  It  has  long  been  recognized  from 
similarity  in  phraseology  amounting  to  identity  between 
many  verses,1  that  these  two  works  are  related,  and  it 
has  usually  been  assumed  that  the  interlude  was  based 
on  the/4£&f«.  Heuser  comes  to  a  quite  contrary  con- 
clusion, which  is  doubtless  correct.  The  fabliau  is 
obviously  based  on  a  dramatic  version.  This  original 
can  hardly  have  been  the  extant  interlude,  because  not 
only  are  the  proper  names  different,  but  there  is  differ- 
ence in  certain  important  details.  For  example,  the  lady 
loved  in  the  interlude,  as  in  the  version  by  Nicole  Bozon, 
is  a  "damishel"  and  "may den."  The  only  conclu- 
sion left  to  be  drawn  is  that  these  two  works  are  related 
to  a  common  original. 

The  unique  manuscript  in  which  the  Dame  Siriz  is 
preserved,  fiigby  MS.  86,  the  same  one  to  which  we 
owe  the  preservation  of  the  unique  text  of  the  Vox  and 
Wolf,  is  one  of  those  displayed  in  the  exhibition  case 
of  manuscripts  in  the  Bodleian  library.  This  manuscript, 
we  are  told,  was  probably  written  "at  the  priory  at 
Worcester  between  1272  and  1283."  The  Dame  Siriz 
begins  on  folio  165  with  the  following  heading  in  red 
ink,  Ci  comece  le  fable  I  &  le  caintise  de  dame  siriz. 

On  the  subject  of  the  dialect  of  the  Dame  Siriz  dif- 
ferent opinions  have  been  expressed.  Ten  Brink  assigns 
the  original  work  to  the  Southeast,  to  Kent  or  Sussex. 
Brandl,  on  the  other  hand,  assigns  it  to  the  Southwest 

I  Vv.  82,83  in  Dame  Sirix  =  v.  5  in  the  Interludium.  Similarly  102  = 
9,  I 12- j 14  =  25,  1 34  =  Ia»  135  =  30,  161  =  37,  167  =  38,  174  =  42, 
175-177  =  43-47,  187,  188  =  53,  54,  191  =  62, 193  =63,  196-199  =  65- 
6#,  205  =  84,  207-209'=  69-71,  221,  222  =  57 ;  cf.  Heuser,  loc.  cit.  313. 


xi  31ntrotmetion 

Midland  (in  which  dialect  the  MS.  itself  doubtless  was 
written).  A  close  examination  of  the  existing  form  of 
the  text  reveals  a  mixture  of  forms  from  different  dia- 
lects. The  infinitive  ends,  now  with,  now  without, 
final  -#.  The  first  personal  pronoun  appears  as  icb,  the, 
and  /.  Other  varying  forms  are:  jeue,  geue ;  mucbele, 
michele,  mike  I ;  senne,  sunne. 

The  most  striking  peculiarities,  however,  are  those 
of  Southern  character.  Very  noticeable  is  the  dropping 
or  wrong  application  of  initial  b-,  and  the  use  of  initial 
w-  for  older  bw-,  and  the  frequent  use  of  the  prefix  /'- 
before  the  verbal  forms.  Other  Southern  peculiarities 
are:  wes  for  was,  cunnes  (O.  E.  cynnes},  icb,  boe  for 
sbe,  bye  for  pel,  the  forms  of  the  verb  be,  such  spell- 
ings as  same  'shame,'  srud  '  shroud,'  jles  'flesh,' 
and  the  forms  bauef>  and  ledep  in  the  plural  of  the 
present  indicative. 

Along  with  these  Southern  forms  appear  a  number 
of  non-Southern  features.  The  rimes  oe  (infin.),  me ; 
eten,  mete ;  fare,  kare,  indicate  that  in  the  original  the 
final  -n  of  the  infinitive  was  dropped  at  least  sometimes. 
The  rimes  inne,  wenne  (O.  E.  wynn)  ;  inne,  senne 
(O.E.  synn),  indicate  a  non-Southern  pronunciation 
of  O.E.  y.  The  rime  woldi,  vilani  indicates  the  use 
of  the  form  /  for  the  pronoun  of  the  first  person.  Heuser 
cites  the  rime  come,  blome  as  a  sign  of  the  East  Mid- 
land dialect,  and  iboen,  noen  as  specifically  Lincolnshire. 
Besides  these  rimes  we  may  cite  the  following  non- 
Southern  words  or  word-forms,  some  of  them  already 
cited  by  Heuser:  selk,  ferli,  mike  I,  til  (for  'to'), 
allegate,  witerli,  gange  (infin.)  garden},  godlec. 


^Introduction  xii 

From  such  dialectal  peculiarities  and  the  fact  that  the 
related  interlude  De  Clerico  et  Puella  is  composed  in  the 
dialect  of  North  Lincoln  or  South  York,  and  from  the 
allusion  to  the  fair  at  Botolfston  in  Lincolnshire,  Heu- 
ser  concludes  that  the  home  of  the  interlude  underlying 
the  fabliau  of  Dame  Siriz  was  Lincolnshire. 

The  Dame  Siriz,  then,  in  its  present  form  is  based 
on  an  East  Midland  original,  and  retains  forms  peculiar 
to  that  dialect.  It  was  probably  composed,  however, 
by  a  resident  of  the  South,  and  the  manuscript,  written 
at  Worcester,  was  probably  written  by  a  scribe  belong- 
ing to  the  Southwest. 

The  early  date  of  the  Dame  Siriz  is  shown  by  the 
date  of  the  manuscript,  written  between  1272  and  1283. 

The  versification  is  not  uniform.  The  first  132  verses 
are  in  the  tail-rime  stanza  with  the  rime  scheme  a  a  b 
c  c  b.  Then  follow  16  verses  in  couplets.  During  the 
remainder  of  the  poem  the  tail-rime  stanza  and  the 
couplet  alternate  irregularly,  the  change  in  the  character 
of  the  verse  seeming  to  correspond  in  no  respect  to  the 
subject  matter.  Heuser  supposes  that  the  composer  of 
the  fabliau  undertook  to  transform  an  original  interlude 
in  couplets,  possibly  from  memory,  into  a  poem  with 
tail-rime  stanzas,  and  that  he  was  unequal  to  the  task. 

This  tale,  careless  in  its  versification,  is  not  more 
finished  in  other  respects.  It  lacks  in  proportion,  a  char- 
acteristic which  it  shares  with  other  Middle  English 
tales.  A  more  serious  fault  is  a  want  of  fitness  of  man- 
ner to  matter,  the  stiffness  of  the  tail-rime  stanza  ill  suit- 
ing the  trivial  character  of  the  story,  unless  indeed  the 
effect  of  burlesque  was  consciously  aimed  at  as  in  Chau- 


xlii  ^Introduction 

cer's  Sir  Tbopas.  The  situations,  however,  are  pre- 
sented with  remarkable  concreteness,  and  the  charac- 
ters, especially  that  of  Dame  Siriz,  presented  with  a 
considerable  degree  of  distinctness.  The  whole  poem, 
too,  is  pervaded  with  sly  irony,  which  only  near  the  end 
breaks  out  in  open  hilarity. 

The  interlude  De  Clerico  et  Puella  *  is  preserved  in 
a  unique  manuscript,  now  Brit.  Mus.  Add.  MS.  23986, 
of  the  first  part  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The  inter- 
lude, which  is  in  riming  couplets,  is  incomplete,  leav- 
ing off  in  the  course  of  the  dialogue  between  the  lover 
and  the  go-between,  so  that  the  weeping-bitch  does  not 
appear.  The  theme 2  in  this  interlude  is  the  same  as 
that  in  the  fabliau,  as  is  proved  conclusively  by  the  ver- 
bal resemblances  mentioned  above,  amounting  even  to 
identity  between  lines  in  the  two  works.  There  are, 
however,  striking  points  of  difference.  The  object  of 
the  clerk's  love  in  the  interlude  is  a  "  may  den  "  names 
Malkyn,  and  the  go-between  is  named  Mome  Elwis. 
The  dialogue,  owing  in  part  to  the  use  of  the  couplet 
throughout,  is  more  lively  and  natural  than  in  fatfabliau. 

This  interesting  dramatic  fragment  is  the  sole  3  repre- 
sentative of  a  kind  of  composition  once  popular  in  Eng- 
land. According  to  Ward,  interludes  "  from  the 
Plantagenet  times  onwards  seems  to  have  not  infre- 
quently been  produced  to  diversify  or  fill  up  the  paused 
of  the  banquet  ensuing  in  great  houses  upon  the  more 

I  "  England  hat  nach  dem  Spiel  von  der  Dame  Siriz  das  ganze  Mittel- 
alter  hindurch  kein  weiteres  komiscbes  Drama  aufzuweisen.1'  —  W. 
Creizenach,  of.  cit.  I.  p.  454. 

Z  Cf.  p.  ij,  note  4. 

5  A  second  possible  example  is  the  Dux  Maraud^  cf.  W.  Heuser,  An- 
glia,  XXX.  iSoff. 


substantial  part  of  the  repast. ' '  Evidence  of  the  popu- 
larity of  such  productions  is  afforded  by  the  Wycliffite 
protest x  against  clergy  for  taking  part  in  representations 
of  interludes.  This  piece,  according  to  Creizenach, 
"seems  to  have  been  used  by  clerks."  The  marginal 
notes  in  the  manuscript  are  in  Latin,  and  the  subject 
matter  deals  with  a  priest.  This  English  interlude  is 
possibly  related  to  a  Latin  dramatic  composition,  "  per- 
haps Italian,"  referred  to  by  Gayley,2  "by  one  Jaco- 
bus," and  dealing  with  the  "intrigue,  so  dear  to  medi- 
eval satirists,  between  priest  and  labourer's  wife." 

THE  Vox  AND  WOLF 

To  the  same  interesting  manuscript  which  has  pre- 
served the  unique  copy  of  the  Dame  Siriz  we  owe  also 
the  preservation  of  the  entertaining  tale  of  the  Vox  and 
Wolf.  This  tale,  aside  from  its  own  intrinsic  interest, 
has  an  importance  in  English  literature,  since  it  is  the 
sole  representative  in  English  before  the  time  of  Chau- 
cer of  the  tales  of  the  Roman  de  Renard.  The  medi- 
eval pseudo-natural  history  dealing  with  the  habits  and 
qualities  of  beasts  is  well  represented  in  English  by  the 
early  Middle  English  Bestiary,  and,  as  has  already  been 
pointed  out  above,  England  contributed  its  full  share 
toward  the  medieval  culture  of  fables.  It  is  somewhat 
surprising,  then,  to  find  in  Middle  English  but  this  sol- 
itary representative  of  the  beast-epic  tales  so  popular  in 
French. 

I    Reliquiae  Antiquae,  Z,  4Z  ff.  j   MJtzner,  Lesebuch,  I,  a,  ZZ4  ff.}  c£ 
Creizenach,  of.  cit.  i.  179,  180. 
Z  Of.  cit.  p.  xvii. 


xiiv  31ntrotiuctton 

n-— •* 

No  exact  original  of  the  English  Vox  and  Wolfis 
known,  but  the  story  in  its  main  outline  corresponds  to 
Branch  iv.  of  the  French  Roman  de  Renard.  The  story 
of  Branch  iv.  in  the  ordinary  version  runs  as  fol- 
lows:1—  Renard  arrives  hungry  one  night  before  a 
monastery  and  finds  an  open  gate.  He  devours  two 
chickens  and  is  about  to  proceed  to  a  third  when  he  is 
overcome  with  thirst.  He  finds  a  well  in  the  courtyard, 
and  at  the  bottom  of  this  well  he  sees  his  own  reflection, 
which  he  takes  to  be  the  face  of  his  wife  Hermeline. 
Renard  calls  down  the  well,  "  What  are  you  doing?" 
An  echo  answers  him.  He  calls  a  second  time,  and  then, 
impatient,  jumps  into  a  bucket  and  descends,  so  rapidly 
that  he  nearly  drowns.  He  is  in  despair  of  ever  get- 
ting out,  when  Isengrim,  the  wolf,  comes  along.  Isen- 
grim  sees  his  own  reflection  in  the  well  beside  Renard 
and  thinks  it  to  be  his  wife  Hersent.  For  a  time  he 
heaps  abuse  upon  the  supposed  Hersent.  Renard  allows 
him  to  proceed  for  a  time;  then  he  calms  him  by  per- 
suading him  that  he  below  is  dead  and  in  paradise.  Isen- 
grim wishes  to  go  down.  Renard  points  out  the  way, 
but  advises  him  first  to  confess  his  sins.  While  Isengrim, 
with  his  face  to  the  west,  prays  God  to  pardon  his  sins, 
Renard  gets  into  a  bucket.  Isengrim,  his  prayer  finished, 
gets  into  the  other  bucket,  and  descends,  lifting  the 
bucket  with  Renard.  As  the  buckets  pass,  Isengrim  asks 
Renard  why  he  is  going  up.  Renard  replies,  "  I  am 
going  to  paradise  above;  you  are  going  to  hell  below. 
When  one  goes,  the  other  comes  .  .  ."  Isengrim  re- 
mains in  the  well  all  night.  Next  morning  he  is  dis- 

i  The  summary  here  follows  that  by  Sudre.  See  Bibliography. 


3!ntrotmction  xiv 

covered  by  servants  of  the  monks,  and  is  beaten  with 
clubs  and  left  for  dead. 

Besides  this  ordinary  version  of  Branch  iv.  of  the 
French  Roman,  there  is  preserved  in  a  single  manu- 
script *  another  distinct  French  version  which  is  more 
simple  in  outline.  In  this  unique  version  no  mention  is 
made  of  Renard  mistaking  his  own  reflection  in  the 
water  for  the  face  of  Hermeline  nor  of  the  wolf's  illu- 
sion concerning  Hersent.2  Isengrim's  confession,  which 
plays  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  ordinary  version,  in  this 
simpler  version  is  disposed  of  in  a  single  sentence,  and 
the  paradise  in  this  version  is  an  earthly  paradise.  In 
minor  details  at  the  beginning  and  the  end  this  version 
differs  from  the  ordinary  one,  but  the  main  outline  of 
the  story  is  the  same.  In  both  versions  the  story  is  told 
in  a  spirited  manner,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  say  which 
affords  the  better  entertainment. 

Neither  of  these  French  versions  corresponds  exactly 
with  the  English  tale;  in  the  introductory  part  of  the 
story  the  English  version  resembles  more  closely  the  sim- 
pler French  story;  in  the  latter  part  there  is  greater 
parallelism  with  the  ordinary  French  version.  It  is  clear, 
however,  that  the  English  tale,  with  its  individual 
names,  Sigrim  and  Reneuard,  its  lively  narrative  and 
realistic  dialogue,  and  its  human  satire,  is  closely  related 
to  the  versions  in  the  Roman  de  Renard.* 

1  Bill,  de  V Arsenal,  3334.  Published  by  Chabaille  in  a  supplement  to 
the  edition  of  Meon. 

2  In  the  allusions  to  the  well-story  in  branches  vi.  and  ix.  of  the  sim 
pier  version,  Isengrim  is  represented  as  attracted  solely  by  the  opportu 
nity  offered  to  gourmandize. 

3  The  tales  of  the  Roman  de  Renard  are  probably  based  on  popular  sto- 
ries. These  popular  stories  differ  from  the  fables  in  that  the  didactic  ele- 
ment is  eliminated.   To  the  popular  tales  the  tales  of  the  Roman  dt  Renard 
add  an  anthropomorphic  element. 


xivi  3fIntroDuetton 

To  trace  the  exact  relationship  of  this  English  tale 
of  fox  and  wolf  to  the  scores  of  other  versions,  written 
and  oral,  in  the  different  countries  of  Europe,  would 
be  an  impossible  task.  The  inter-influences  between 
written  and  oral  versions  are  too  complex  ever  to 
be  exactly  determined.  There  are,  however,  several 
related  groups  of  versions  which  it  is  possible  to  distin- 
guish. 

In  the  first  place  the  history  of  the  version  in  the 
Roman  de  Renard  deserves  attention.  This  form  of  the 
story  is  retold,  with  minor  modifications  and  with  espe- 
cial animus  against  the  black  monks,  in  the  French  Re- 
nart  le  Contrefait.  It  is  not  included  in  the  Latin  Tsen- 
grimus  composed  at  Ghent  in  1148  by  the  scholar 
Nivard,  nor  in  the  Reinardus  Vulpes,  a  later  expanded 
version  of  the  TTsengrimus.  It  does  appear,  however,  in 
the  German  version  of  the  Roman  de  Renard,  the  Rein- 
hart  Fuchs  composed  by  Heinrich  der  Glichezare 
about  1 1 80.  In  this  version  appear  the  illusions  caused 
by  the  reflections  in  the  well  in  the  case  both  of  Rein- 
hart  and  of  Isengrim.  The  paradise  in  the  well  is  allur- 
ingly described.  Isengrim,  seeing  the  eyes  of  Reinhart 
gleaming  in  the  dark,  asks  what  they  are,  and  is  told 
they  are  carbuncles.  There  is,  however,  no  mention  of 
the  confession  and  absolution  of  Isengrim. 

Derived  from  this  early  German  version  seems  to  be 
the  one  printed  by  J.  von  Lassberg  in  his  Lie  der  SaaL1 
This  story  has  two  parts :  —  ( I )  The  fox  sees  his  own 
reflection  in  a  well  and  mistakes  it  for  his  wife.  Through 
love  of  her,  he  leaps  in.  (2)  The  wolf  comes  along  and 

I  Vol.  ii.  no.  93.  Reprinted  by  Grimm,  Reinhart  Fuch},  pp.  356-8. 


3|ntroDuction 

is  led  by  the  prospect  of  "  manger  siissen  spise  "  to 
leap  into  the  bucket.  Corresponding  with  the  two  parts 
are  two  morals:  —  ( I )  One  must  not  be  made  foolish 
by  love;  (2)  One  must  not  trust  false  friends. 

Possibly  remotely  connected  with  the  Roman  de  Renard 
version  are  two  other  tales :  —  ( I  )  A  fifteenth-century 
German  version,  printed  by  J.  Baechtold  ( Germania, 
xxxm.  257  ff.)  in  a  collection  of  twenty-one  tales 
which  in  the  manuscript  formed  an  appendix  to  Boner's 
Fables.  No  mention  is  made  of  a  paradise  in  the  well. 
The  fox  entices  the  wolf  by  saying,  "  dz  mir  all  min 
tag  nie  so  wol  wz  ";  (2)  The  Italian  fable  in  the  No- 
vellette  Esempi  Morali  e  Apologbi  di  San  Bernardino  da 
Siena ,  Racconto  vi.,  in  which  the  wolf  is  led  to  descend 
into  the  well  by  the  prospect  of  a  hen.  Neither  of 
these  versions  mentions  the  moon  reflection. 

The  well  story  does  not  appear  in  the  first  part  of  the 
Flemish  Reynaert,  composed  by  a  poet  named  William 
about  1250,  but  it  appears  in  a  somewhat  modified 
form  in  a  later  anonymous  second  part,  more  than  a 
century  later.  Here  the  she-wolf  Hersinde,  in  bringing 
charges  against  Reynaert,  brings  up  against  him  the  well 
adventure.  It  is  Hersinde  that  has  heard  Reynaert' s 
cries  in  the  well,  and  moved  by  his  account  of  the  fish 
below  has  entered  the  bucket,  has  suffered  hunger  and 
cold,  and  has  escaped  alive  only  after  many  blows.  This 
Flemish  version  of  the  story  is  reproduced  in  the  Low 
German  Reineke  de  Fos  and  ultimately  in  Goethe's 
Reinecke  Fuchs,  in  which  Gieremund,  the  wife  of  Ise- 
grim,  complains  concerning  her  adventure  in  the  well. * 

I   Reinecke  Fuchs,  XI.  vv.  97-131. 


xlviii  Introduction 

Caxton's  Renard  the  Fox r  is  a  translation  from  the 
Flemish,  and  in  Caxton's  book  it  is  Erswynde,  the 
wife  of  Ysengrim,  who  tells  how,  attracted  by  the  pro- 
spect offish,  she  is  beguiled  by  Renard. 

Another  version  of  the  well-story  which  seems  to  be 
related  2  to  the  version  in  the  Flemish  Reynaert  is  the 
interesting  fourteenth-century  Italian  3  fable.  In  this 
version,  in  terza  rima,  which  has  been  attributed  to  Boc- 
caccio, but  in  the  opinion  of  McKenzie  is  more  likely 
by  Antonio  Pucci,  the  wolf  is  led,  by  the  prospect  of 
fish  in  the  well,  to  leap  into  the  bucket.  Interesting 
is  the  distinctively  Italian  tragic  ending,  in  which  a  dog 
avenges  the  wolf  by  killing  the  escaping  fox. 

M.  Sudre  believes  that  the  well  story  is  derived  from 
popular  tradition.  In  support  of  his  belief  he  cites  the 
fable  version  of  the  story  by  Odo  of  Sherington,  who 
lived  in  the  first  half  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  was 
the  author  of  a  number  of  fables  which  were  before 
unknown  to  fable  collections  and  which  Odo  is  likely  to 
have  derived  from  popular  sources.  The  simple  version 
of  the  story  as  told  by  Odo  agrees  in  its  outline  with 
the  Flemish  version  just  considered,  and  is  not  unlikely 
derived  from  a  common  popular  source.  The  fox  falls 
into  a  well  by  accident.  The  wolf  is  allured  by  the  ac- 
count of  many  fish  and  large  ones.  In  the  morning  rus- 
tics club  the  wolf,  Ysengrimus,  nearly  to  death.  It  seems 
not  at  all  improbable  that  this  simple  version  may  repre- 
sent fairly  closely  the  English  form  of  the  original  popular 

1  Cf.  Caxton's  Reynart,  ed.  Arber,  p.  96.  The  adventure  in  the  well  is 
not  included  in  the  English  eighteenth-century  chap-book  version,  which 
seems  to  be  an  abridgment  of  Caxton. 

2  Possibly  derived  from  Odo  of  Sherington. 

3  Printed  by  K.  McKenzie.   Publ.  M.  L.  A.  of  Amer.  xxi.  zz6  ff. 


3|ntroDuction 

story,  which  was  expanded  in  the  French  Roman  by  the 
anthropomorphic  details  of  the  illusions  produced  by  the 
reflections  in  the  water  and  of  the  paradise  in  the  well, 
and  by  the  burlesque  account  of  the  shriving  of  Isen- 
grim.  The  fables  of  Odo  were  well  known  in  different 
countries.  It  is  quite  probable  that  Odo's  fable  supplied 
the  matter  for  the  first  part  of  the  Italian  fable  mentioned 
above,  and  Fable  no.  14  in  the  Spanish  Libro  de  los 
Gatos  is  a  close  translation  from  Odo.  Practically  the 
same  story  is  told  in  no.  59  of  the  Latin  fables  by  John 
of  Sheppey,  who  lived  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

A  second  family  of  versions  of  the  story  of  the  fox  in 
the  well  seems  to  have  a  common  parentage  in  the  tale 
as  told  by  Petrus  Alphonsus  in  his  Disciplina  Clericalis. 
The  tale  by  Petrus  runs  as  follows: — A  peasant  vexed 
at  his  oxen  exclaims,  "  May  the  wolves  eat  you!" 
A  wolf  hears,  and  at  the  end  of  the  day  claims  the 
oxen.  The  peasant  demurs.  They  set  out  to  seek  a 
judge  and  meet  a  fox,  who  undertakes  to  settle  the  case 
out  of  court.  To  the  peasant  he  promises  to  award  the 
oxen  if  he  is  given  a  chicken  for  himself  and  one  for  his 
wife;  to  the  wolf  he  promises  that  the  peasant  will  give 
a  cheese  the  size  of  the  moon  if  the  wolf  will  quit  his 
claim  on  the  oxen.  The  fox  then  conducts  the  wolf  to 
a  well  in  which  the  moon  is  shining.  He  points  out  the 
moon's  reflection  in  the  well,  and  tells  the  wolf  this  is 
his  cheese.  The  wolf  asks  the  fox  to  bring  up  the 
cheese.  The  fox  descends  in  a  bucket,  but  pretends 
the  cheese  is  too  heavy  for  him  alone.  The  wolf  descends 
to  help.  The  two  pass  on  the  way,  and  the  wolf  is  left  to 
his  own  devices  at  the  bottom  of  the  well. 


1  ^Introduction 

In  this  version  there  will  be  recognized  two  new  and 
quite  independent  elements :  —  ( I )  The  introduction 
concerning  the  peasant,  the  oxen,  and  the  wolf;  (  2  )  The 
moon  mistaken  for  cheese.  Of  these  elements  the  first 
forms  the  material  for  Branch  ix.  of  the  French  Roman 
de  Renart,  with  a  different  conclusion,  however,  and 
with  Bruin  the  bear  playing  the  part  taken  by  the  wolf 
in  the  Disciplina  story.  It  also  forms  the  first  part  of  a 
genuinely  Indo-European  popular  tale  known  in  Fin- 
land, Lapland,  Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark,  Germany, 
France,  Spain,  Lithuania,  Russia,  Greece,  Syria  and 
India.  K.  Krohn,1  who  has  made  an  exhaustive  study 
of  the  various  forms  of  this  tale,  refers  to  the  version  in 
the  Disciplina  as  "die  unvollstandige  und  corrumpirte 
form  des  Petrus  Alfonsi."  The  moon  element  in  the 
tale  also  is  the  subject  of  a  widely  known  popular  story. 
According  to  Krohn  (p.  41),  "it  enters  not  only  the 
beast-epic  but  fable  literature  in  general  through  the 
translation  of  the  story  in  the  Disciplina  Clericalis  and 
thus  has  spread  here  and  there  among  the  folk." 

The  exact  source  of  this  combination  of  the  story  of 
the  fox  in  the  well  with  that  of  the  moon  reflection  it  is 
impossible  to  determine.  It  is  interesting,  however,  to 
note  that  practically  the  same  story  as  told  by  Petrus, 
though  with  a  different  introduction,  was  told  by  the 
Jewish  Rabbi  Raschi  in  the  preceding  century.  Since 
Petrus  derived  his  tales  from  Hebrew  and  oriental 
sources,  one  is  at  first  inclined  to  attribute  this  story 
combination  to  Hebrew  origin.  The  fact,  however, 
that  the  story  does  not  appear  elsewhere  2  in  Hebrew 

I  See  Bibliography. 

^  It  is  not  told  by  Hai  Gaon  (969-1038),  who  professes  to  tell  the  same 


3|ntroDuction  li 

fable  collections,  and  that  Raschi  was  born  about  1 040 
in  Troyes,  in  the  part  of  France  where  beast  tales  at 
that  particular  time  were  being  actively  propagated, 
leads  one  to  conclude  that  Raschi  made  use  of  a  current 
popular  tale  which  through  some  channel,  Hebrew  or 
other,  later  supplied  Petrus  with  his  version  of  the 
story. 

The  tale  as  told  by  Petrus  Alphonsus  appeared  in  the 
various  vernacular  versions  of  his  story  collection.  Of 
these  the  most  interesting  is  the  expanded  courtly  French 
metrical  version  of  the  C(^b^astoiement.  Here  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Roman  de  Renard  is  apparent.  The 
Fox  and  Wolf  bear  the  names  respectively  of  Regnart 
and  Ysengrims,  and  the  burlesque  element  is  prominent, 
particularly  in  the  passage  where  Regnart  proposing 
himself  as  judge  says, 

"  Car  j'ai  este  a  bone  escole 
Et  a  Boloigne  et  a  Paris 
Ou  j'ai  des  lois  asses  apris 
Que  loial  jugement  ferai 
De  vos  contes,  quant  jes  orrai." 

ed.  Roesle,  vv.  81-85. 

The  tale  by  Petrus,  like  the  Dame  Siriz,  found  its 
way  into  the  fable  collection  of  Stainhowel  and  thence 
into  the  fable  collections  of  the  Netherlands,  Spain, 
France,  and  England,  besides  that  of  Germany.  In  Cax- 
ton's  edition  it  stands  as  number  ix.  of  ts  The  Fables 
of  Alfonce."  It  is  cited  by  N.  S.  Guillon  as  appearing 

tale  from  Rabbi  Meir  as  is  told  by  Raschi.  (See  Publ.  M.  L.  A.  Amer. 
xxiii.  pp.  497  ff.)  Further,  his  not  included  in  the  Syriac  Fables  ofSophos 
(J.  Landsberger,  Die  Fabeln  des  Sophos,  Posen,  1859),  nor  ln  tne  Hebrew 
Parabolae  Vulpium  of  Barachia  Nikdan,  which  contains  several  kindred 
tales,  notably  the  story  of  the  wolf  fishing  with  his  tail  through  the  ice. 


Hi  3lntroHuction 

in  the  Fables  of  Marie  de  France  from  the  MS.  de  la 
EibL  de  Saint-Germain-des-Pres,  no.  1830.  It  is  not 
included,  however,  in  the  Warnke  edition  of  the  Fables 
by  Marie. 

An  interesting  version  of  this  form  of  the  story  is  the 
one  included  in  the  Contes  Moralises  of  Nicole  Bozon, 
no.  128,  under  the  moralization,  De  Mala  societate  fu- 
*  gjenda^  and  in  the  Latin  translation  from  Bozon  (Her- 
vieux,  Fabulistes  Latins ,  in.  no.  10).  In  this  version 
it  is  a  sheep  that  is  led  by  the  fox  to  mistake  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  moon  in  the  well  for  a  cheese  and  to  descend 
in  the  bucket.  That  Bozon  in  this  fable  was  drawing 
from  English  popular  tradition  seems  certain  from  the 
fact  that  the  sheep  lamenting  his  condition  at  the  bottom 
of  the  well  is  made  to  say,  in  English  t  "  For  was  hyt 
never  myn  kynd  chese  in  welle  to  fynd."  It  is  possible 
that  the  English  popular  story  corresponding  to  the  pop- 
ular stories  used  by  Petrus  and  by  Raschi  had  the  sheep 
as  a  principal  character. r  In  this  connection  it  is  worthy 
of  note  that  in  another  fable  in  the  collection  by  Bozon 
(no.  46)  the  fox  and  the  wolf  see  the  reflection  of  the 
moon  in  the  water,  and  the  wolf  is  led  to  fish  with  his 
tail  for  the  supposed  cheese,  a  quite  different  combina- 
tion of  the  moon  reflection  incident  with  a  story  even 
more  widely  known  than  that  of  the  fox  in  the  well. 

The  Disciplina  version  of  the  story  is  admirably 
handled  by  Robert  Henryson  in  his  collection  of  fables. 
This  Scotch  fable  in  seven-line  stanzas,  on  account  of 

I  Perhaps  the  substitution  of  sheep  for  wolf  is  due  to  Bozon's  desire  to 
differentiate  this  story  from  the  story  of  the  fox  and  the  wolf  fishing  with 
his  tail,  which,  as  told  by  Bozon,  is  also  associated  with  the  moon  reflec- 
tion story. 


3IntroDuction  liii 

its  concreteness  of  detail  and  liveliness  of  manner  and 
interesting  Scotch  phrases,  deserves  to  be  classed  among 
the  very  best  versions  of  the  story.  The  Disciplina  form 
of  the  story  is  also  used  by  Hans  Sachs  in  his  "Fabel 
mit  dem  Pauer,  Fuchs  und  Wolff*'  and,  with  another 
story  replacing  that  of  the  peasant  and  his  oxen,  in  the 
sixteenth-century  German  fable  collection  by  Burkhard 
Waldis  (Book  4,  Fable  8).  It  is  also  the  form  used 
by  La  Fontaine,  who  elaborates  in  details,  notably  in  the 
appearance  of  the  moon  reflection,  which  is  ecbancr'e  in 
appearance  like  cheese,  and  in  Renard's  enticing  descrip- 
tion of  the  quality  of  the  cheese.  Moland,  in  his  edition 
of  La  Fontaine,  cites  as  a  source  for  La  Fontaine's  fable, 
the  Apologii  Phcedrii,  \  oo  fables  by  Jacques  Regnier, 
Pars  i,  p.  24,  published  in  1643,  which  the  present 
writer  has  been  unable  to  examine.  Another  version 
possibly  belonging  to  the  Disciplina  family  is  the  Italian 
fable  della  Volpe  e  Y  Lupo,  one  of  a  collection  of  one 
hundred  fables  by  Verdizotti,  published  at  Venice  in 
1570.  The  La  Fontaine  version,  in  turn,  seems  to  be 
the  source  of  a  later  Latin  version  in  the  Fabulae  Aesopiac, 
Book  8,  Fable  24,  by  F.  J.  Desbillons,  5th  ed.  Paris, 
1769.  In  later  English  versions  the  fable  in  the  Dis- 
ciplina version  is  not  frequent. *  It  does  appear,  however, 
in  a  very  much  condensed  form,  as  number  3  in  a 
collection  of  fables  in  The  Principles  of  Grammar,  or 
Toutb's  English  Directory,  by  G.  Wright,  London, 
1794. 

I  It  does  not  appear  in  Bullokar's  collection,  1585,  nor  among  Gay's 
Fables,  nor  in  the  Aesop  at  Tunbridge,  London,  1628,  nor  in  Fables  for 
Ladies  by  E.  Moore,  about  1750,  nor  in  Fables  of  Flora  by  Langhorne, 
nor  in  the  large  collection,  Fables  and  Satires,  by  Sir  G.  Boothby,  Edinb., 
1809,  nor  in  Aesofs  Fables,  by  T.  James,  Philadelphia,  1851. 


in  which  a  hare  conducts  a  lion  to  a  deep  well  where 
the  lion  sees  his  own  reflection,  and  led  by  the  hare  to 
take  the  reflection  for  an  enemy,  leaps  in  and  loses  his 
life.  A  modern  Indian  form  of  this  tale  with  jackals 
taking  the  place  of  the  hare,  is  recorded  in  Old  Deccan 
Days  by  M.  Frere,  in  a  tale  entitled  "  Singh  Rajah 
and  the  Cunning  Little  Jackals."  This  tale,  in  its  main 
outline  and  in  certain  details  reminds  of  the  incident  in 
the  fox  and  the  wolf  story  where  Isengrim  mistakes  his 
reflection  in  the  well  for  his  wife  Hersent.  Another  tale, 
in  which  the  elephant  is  conducted  by  a  hare  to  the  edge 
of  a  lake,  where  he  mistakes  the  shadow  of  the  moon  for 
the  king  of  the  hares,  is  also  recorded  in  the  Pantcbatan- 
tra.1  These  analogues,  however,  are  not  remarkably 
close,  and  we  must  conclude  that  if  the  story  of  fox  and 
wolf  in  the  well  came  from  the  East,  it  did  not,  as  Sudre 
has  pointed  out,  follow  the  literary  route  followed  by 
other  fables.  If  it  came  from  the  East  by  an  oral  route, 
the  buckets  element  seems  to  be  a  western  2  addition. 

There  remains  to  be  mentioned  an  Arabic  tale  Le 
renard  et  la  byene  (Meidani,  Proverbes  (6),  t.  n.  p. 
7,  and  Ecb  cbericbi  ap.  cheikbo,  Madjanf  I  adab  (7), 
t.  i.  p.  89)  cited  by  R.  Basset  (Rev.  des  trad.  pop. 
xxi.,  300).  A  parallel  to  the  conception  of  the  earthly 
paradise  in  the  well  is  to  be  found  in  the  Arabic  tale  3 
of  <*  Le  Paradis  Souterrain,"  in  which  a  man  goes  to 

1  Translation  by  Lancereau,  p.  216. 

2  In  an  elegiac  poem  composed  by  Riparius  in  the  fourteenth  century 
(cited  by  Creizenach,!.  28)  a  trick  like  that  played  by  the  fox  on  the  wolf 
is  played  by  a  peasant  on  a  clerk.  Can  the  beast  tale  have  been  an  adapta- 
tion of  a  tale  originally  dealing  with  human  beings  f 

3  Contts  et  Legendt*  Arabes,\>y  R.  Basset,  no.  481  (Rev,  des  trad, 
fof.  xv.  p.  667). 


^Introduction  Mi 

a  well  to  draw  water.  The  bucket  falls  to  the  bottom. 
The  man  descends  to  get  the  bucket  and  finds  a  door 
opening  into  a  paradise. 

It  seems  probable  that  the  tale  of  fox  and  wolf  as  told 
in  Branch  iv.  of  the  Roman  de  Renard  is  derived  for 
the  most  part  from  popular  tradition.  This  view  is  con- 
firmed by  the  fact  that  the  tale  is  a  familiar  one  in  mod- 
ern folk  story.  It  persists  in  popular  story  in  Spain  l  and 
in  Portugal.2  A  Breton  popular  version  is  cited  by  L. 
F.  Sauve.3  A  fox  on  the  point  of  being  eaten  by  a  wolf 
points  out  the  reflection  of  the  moon  in  the  water,  say- 
ing that  it  is  a  young  girl  bathing.  The  wolf  leaps  in 
to  devour  her  and  is  drowned.  A  similar  tale,  in  which, 
however,  the  fox  pushes  the  wolf  into  the  well,  appears 
in  a  cycle  of  beast  tales  of  La  Bresse.4 

Another  popular  tale  told  in  Southern  France  is  effec- 
tively reproduced  by  P.  Redonnel.s  A  fox  is  in  a  tree 
eating  cheese.  A  wolf  asks  what  he  is  eating.  The  fox 
replies, ts  The  moon. ' '  The  fox  as  he  eats  drops  a  crumb 
to  the  wolf  from  time  to  time.  Both  are  thirsty,  and 
they  set  out  for  a  drink.  On  the  way  the  fox  explains 
that  he  found  the  moon  trembling  at  the  bottom  of  a 
well  and  carried  it  off.  The  two  come  to  a  well  with 
two  buckets.  The  fox  descends  first  and  drinks  ;  then 
signals  for  the  wolf  to  get  into  the  other  bucket.  The 
wolf  is  left  in  the  well.  It  will  be  noted  that  this  enter- 
tainingly told  story  has  its  inconsistencies.  The  fox  in 

I  Antonio  de  Trueba,  Narraciones  populares,  Leipzig,  1875,  pp.  91  ff. 
Z  Coelho,  Cantos  popular  es  portuguexes^  Lisbon,  1879,  pp.  13-15, 

3  Rev.  des  trad.  pop.  I.  363-4. 

4  Sebillot,  Contes  des  Provinces  de  France.    Le  Renard  de  Bassieu  et  la 
loup  d'Hotonnes. 

5  Rev.  del  trad.  pop.  II.  611-12. 


3|ntrotmction 

the  tree  is  not  easy  to  conceive  of,  and  the  relation  of  the 
moon  story  to  the  trick  on  the  wolf  is  not  made  clear. 

In  Northern  France  the  tale  is  one  of  an  epic  cycle 
of  tales  concerning  the  relations  of  fox  and  wolf.  In 
this  collection  the  wolf,  angry  at  the  fox  for  a  trick 
played  on  him,  pursues  him.  The  fox,  about  to  be 
caught,  comes  to  a  well,  leaps  into  a  bucket  and  goes 
to  the  bottom.  He  cries  for  assistance.  The  wolf,  still 
in  angry  pursuit,  gets  into  the  other  bucket  and  is  mocked 
by  the  fox  as  the  two  buckets  pass. 

In  this  connection  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  notion 
of  another  world  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  well  is  not 
unknown  to  modern  folk-lore.  In  France,  we  are  told,1 
certain  wells  are  so  deep  that  they  are  supposed  to  reach 
a  subterranean  world. 

Other  cycles  of  popular  beast  tales  are  told  in  parts 
of  Germany  and  are  recorded  by  J.  Haltrich.2  One 
group  of  tales  deals  with  the  wolf  alone,  another  with 
the  fox  alone,  a  third,  a  cycle  of  ten  stories,  with  the 
relations  of  fox  and  wolf.  In  this  cycle  the  well  story 
follows  the  tale  in  which  the  fox,  by  feigning  death, 
gets  fish  from  a  peasant.  The  wolf  eats  the  fish  and 
then,  thirsty,  is  conducted  by  the  fox  to  a  well,  where 
the  buckets  adventure  occurs. 

What  is  the  relation  of  these  popular  tales  to  the  lit- 
erary versions  ?  In  some  cases  probably  we  have  to  do 
with  popular  survivals  of  the  oral  sources  of  the  beast- 
epic  tales.  In  other  cases  the  modern  popular  tales  are 
probably  derived  from  a  literary  source.  It  is  probable 

1  P.  Sebillot,  Le  Folk-lore  de  Franct,  n.  313. 

2  J.  Haltrich,  Zur  rolktkunde  der  Siebenburger. 


31nerotmctton  li* 

that  in  modern  popular  story  oral  and  literary  streams 
of  tradition  meet.  In  the  case  of  the  German  cycles  of 
popular  tales  mentioned  above,  Wolf,  the  later  editor  of 
the  collection  by  Haltrich,  concludes  that  the  tales  are 
probably  not  derived  from  the  earlier  beast-epic,  be- 
cause: ( I )  the  central  incident  of  the  beast-epic,  the  ill- 
ness and  healing  of  the  lion  and  the  trial  of  the  fox,  is 
absent,  and  the  lion  does  not  appear  at  all;  (2)  the 
beasts  do  not  have  proper  names.  Wolf  concludes  that 
these  German  popular  tales  probably  have  their  source  in 
the  well-known  German  fable  collections  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  by  Burkhard  Waldis  in  I  548  and  by 
Erasmus  Alberus  in  1580. 

The  well  adventure  has  not  been  recorded  among 
the  popular  beast  tales  collected  in  Africa. l  Among  the 
American  negroes,2  however,  a  similar  tale  is  told  in 
which  it  is  the  rabbit  that  outwits  the  fox,  an  oriental 
characteristic,  since  in  oriental  beast  tales  the  jackal  and 
hare,  and  occasionally  the  tortoise,  divide  the  honors 
in  the  tales  of  trickery. 

The  English  tale  of  The  Vox  and  the  PTo/fhas  been 
much  admired  and  praised.  It,  perhaps  more  than  any 
other  English  humorous  poem  before  Chaucer,  shows 
the  buoyancy  of  spirit  and  lightness  of  touch  that  char- 
acterize some  of  the  contemporary  productions  in 
French.  Yet  the  English  poem  offers  little  that  is  new. 
It  is  probably  based  on  a  French  original,  and  in  cer- 
tain cases  it  has  not  reproduced  its  original  very  dis- 

1  Cf.  A.  Seidel,  Geschichten  der  Afrikaner,  Berlin,  1896;  Callaway,  Nur- 
sery  rales  of  the  Zulus,  London,  1868}  W.  H.  I.  Bleek,  Reineke    Fucht 
in  Afrika,  Weimar,  1870. 

2  J.  C.  Harris,  Uncle  Remus :  his  songs  and  sayings,  no.  16. 


ix  3|ntroUuction 

tinctly.  This  is  evident  particularly  in  the  relation 
of  the  incident  of  the  henyard  with  the  well  story. 
From  references  here  and  there  (vv.  34,  40,  54,  55, 
98)  throughout  the  tale,  one  must  infer  that  Reneuard 
has  devoured  some,  possibly  three,  of  the  hens,  yet  no 
mention  is  made  of  this  fact.  The  most  distinctive  ad- 
dition in  subject  matter  in  the  English  version  is  the 
dialogue  between  cock  and  fox  near  the  beginning.  In 
the  emphasis  that  he  has  given  to  this  preliminary  in- 
cident, the  English  writer  resembles  the  author  of  the 
Dame  Siriz  and  Chaucer  in  his  Nonne  Preestes  Tale. 
The  episode  has  little  organic  connection  with  the  main 
incident  and  in  a  way  mars  the  proportion  of  the  nar- 
rative, yet  it  does  contribute  to  the  verisimilitude  and 
the  living  interest  of  the  story.  In  manner  the  English 
version  lacks  some  of  the  very  effective  descriptive 
touches  which  make  the  movements  and  attitudes  of  fox 
and  wolf,  particularly  in  the  simpler  version  of  the 
French  Roman  de  Renard,  so  lifelike.  Perhaps  the  most 
distinctive  quality  of  the  English  version  is  not  wit,  but 
the  humorous  realization  of  the  naivete  in  the  characters 
of  the  beasts,  shown  where  it  is  said  of  the  fox, 

Him  were  leuere  meten  one  hen 
Than  half  an  oundred  wimmen. 

and  when  the  author  remarks  concerning  the  fox  caught 
in  the  well, 

Hit  mi^te  han  iben  his  wille 
To  lete  pat  boket  hongi  stille. 

and  in  the  cringing  manner  of  the  hungry  wolf,  when 

\he  says, 
' '  Ich  wende,  al  so  opre  dop 
J?at  ich  Iseie  were  sop." 


^Introduction  ixi 

The  poem  is  composed  throughout  in  tetrameter 
couplets.  The  style  is  simple  and  in  keeping  with  the 
subject  matter,  more  so  than  in  the  Dame  Siriz.  The 
dialogue,  particularly,  is  simple  and  natural.  An  inter- 
esting feature  of  the  style  is  the  use  here  and  there  of 
popular  proverbial  expressions,  such  as  :  'pat  ne  can 
mep  to  his  mete,'  97; '  Him  is  wo  in euche londe,  pat  is 
pef  mid  his  honde,'  101,  102. 

The  date  of  composition  was  not  far  from  1275,  as 
is  shown  by  the  age  of  the  manuscript  as  well  as  by  the 
character  of  the  language. 

The  dialect  is  Southern,  as  is  evident  by  the  spelling 
of  the  very  title.  Other  indications  are  the  frequent 
dropping  or  misplacing  of  initial  b-,  the  use  of  initial 
w-  for  earlier  hw-y  the  forms  awecche,  reccbe,  the  plural 
forms  hennen,  etc.,  the  ending  -cf>  in  the  third  plural 
of  the  present  indicative,  the  preservation  of  the  prefix 
/-  in  verb  forms.  The  West- Southern  scribe  betrays 
himself  by  the  representation  of  O.E.  y  by  u.  The  real 
pronunciation  of  this  sound  it  is  difficult  to  determine, 
since  the  rimes  are  not  consistent.  A  Southeastern  pro- 
nunciation seems  to  be  indicated  by  such  rimes  as  ; 
aquenche,  druncbe,  13,  14,  and  sugge,  abugge  ;  putte, 
mette.  On  the  other  hand  such  rimes  as  :  kun,  him ; 
sitte,  putte,  indicate  a  Midland  pronunciation. 

•» 

SIR  CLEGES 

The  third  story  of  the  present  collection,  that  of  Sir 
Cleges,  is  somewhat  more  than  a  century  younger  than 
the  other  two.  The  time  of  composition  was  not  far 


ixii  ^Introduction 

from  that  of  the  Canterbury  Tales.  If  there  had  been  a 
minstrel  in  the  famous  company  of  pilgrims,  this  tale 
might  with  fitness  have  been  attributed  to  him.  Not 
only  is  the  tail-rime  stanza  employed  in  the  tale  the  fav- 
orite one  in  later  minstrel  stories,  but  the  hero  is  par- 
ticularly a  minstrel  hero.  The  generosity  of  Sir  Cleges  is 
displayed  particularly  toward  minstrels.  At  the  Christ- 
mas feasts  provided  by  Sir  Cleges,  the  minstrels  figure 
conspicuously,  and  the  gifts  of 

Hors  and  robys  and  rych  thynges, 
Gold  and  syluer  and  oper  thynges 

make  it  easy  to  believe  in  the  sincerity  of  the  words  of 
the  minstrel  in  the  Edinburgh  manuscript, 
"  We  mynstrellys  mysse  hym  sekyrly, 

Seth  he  went  out  of  cuntre."          (w.  496,  497.) 

The  animus1  against  porters  and  their  kind  is  appropri- 
ate to  minstrels  and  appears  not  infrequently  in  minstrel 
tales.  Furthermore  in  the  Edinburgh  text  the  minstrel 
is  actually  represented  as  singing  before  King  Uther  a 
"gest"  concerning  the  virtues  of  Cleges.  The  tale, 
then,  may  be  regarded  as  a  minstrel  tale,  exemplifying 
many  of  the  qualities  of  style  that  Chaucer  so  gleefully 
burlesqued  in  his  tale  of  Sir  Thopas. 

The  story  of  Sir  Cleges  seems  to  have  been  a  min- 
strel's Christmas  story,  for  it  will  be  noticed  that  the 
idea  of  Christmas  is  everywhere  prominent.  The  lavish 
hospitality  of  Cleges  was  particularly  displayed  in  the 
annual  Christmas  feasts,  the  loss  of  his  property  is  par- 
ticularly due  to  Christmas  generosity,  and  the  miracle 
through  which  he  was  restored  to  prosperity  was  a 

I  Cf.  King  Horn,  Sir  Tristrem,  and  the  ballad  of  Hind  Etin. 


jflntroimction  ixiii 

Christmas  miracle.  Doubtless  the  story  was  one  which 
the  minstrel  loved  to  tell  to  encourage  liberality  at  Yule- 
tide  feasts,  and  we  can  readily  understand  why  to  the 
listeners  at  Christmas  entertainments  this  tale  might  be 
a  favorite  one  in  the  minstrel  repertory. 

The  story  is  one  with  an  evident  moral.  This  moral 
is  enforced  by  a  narrative  of  dual  character.  Probably 
what  was  intended  to  be  the  main  theme,  was  the  gen- 
erosity of  Cleges  rewarded  in  this  life  by  divine  inter- 
position; what  was  possibly  not  intended  as  the  prin- 
cipal element,  but  which  nevertheless  most  catches  the 
attention  and  clings  longest  to  the  memory,  is  the  re- 
verse of  this,  the  greed  of  the  king's  servants  punished 
with  logical  justice.  The  unity  in  the  story  is  to  be  found 
only  in  the  presentation  of  the  opposite  rewards  of 
generosity  and  of  greed.  If  we  look  at  the  story  in  this 
way,  we  see  a  logical  appropriateness  in  the  inclusion 
of  the  humorous  anecdote  of  the  strokes  shared  within 
the  pious  tale  of  generosity  divinely  rewarded. 

The  man  who  has  spent  all  his  goods  in  generosity  is 
by  no  means  a  unique  character  in  romantic  story.  The 
close  resemblance  between  the  beginning  of  Sir  Cleges 
and  that  of  Sir  Amadace x  has  often  been  remarked. 
In  the  fifteenth-century  tale  of  The  Knygbt  and  bis 
Wyfe  2  also,  the  knight 

.   .   .   eche  ^ere  was  wont  to  mak 

A  gret  fest  for  oure  lady  sake. 

But  he  spendyt  so  largely 

That  in  poverte  he  fel  in  hye. 

I  Three  Early  English  Metrical  Romances  (ed.  Robson),  Camden  So- 
ciety, London,  1842. 

z  Remains  of  the  Early  Popular  Poetry  of  England,  by  W.  C.  Hazlitt, 
London,  1866,  vol.  n. 


ixiv  Introduction 

In  the  late  ballad,  A  True  Tale  of  Robin  Hood  (Child, 
no.  154),  we  learn  how  Robin  Hood,  Earl  of  Hunt- 
ington,  consumed  his  wealth  in  '  wine  and  costly 
cheere.'  In  the  versions  of  the  Launfal  story  also,  in 
the  Launfal1  by  Thomas  Chestre  and  the  later  version, 
Sir  Lamb  ewe  II f  we  meet  a  similar  character.  In  the 
Launfal  we  read  how, 

He  gaf  gyftys  largelyche, 
Gold,  and  sylver,  and  clodes  ryche, 
To  squyer  and  to  knyght. 

The  manner,  however,  in  which  the  knight  is  re- 
stored to  prosperity  is  widely  different  in  these  different 
tales.  In  the  Sir  Am  a  dace,  the  account  of  the  gener- 
ous knight  serves  as  an  introduction  to  an  interesting 
version  of  the  well  known  folk  tale  of  the  (  grateful 
dead.'  In  The  Knygbt  and  bis  Wyfe,  it  introduces  a 
story  of  the  direct  interposition  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
one  of  the  Mary  legends  which  were  so  popular  in 
contemporary  French  literature.  In  the  True  Tale  of 
Robin  Hood,  it  introduces  the  well  known  ballad  story 
of  outlawry.  In  the  Launfal  stories,  it  introduces  a  tale 
of  aid  through  the  fairy  mistress  Trieamour.  The  tale  of 
Sir  C leges  is  unlike  any  of  these  others.  If  classified  ac- 
cording to  its  first  element,  it  would  be  classed  as  a  dit 
or  conte  devot,  or  perhaps  better,  as  a  legend,  if  Sir 
Cleges  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  Saint  Julian's  devotees, 
a  martyr  to  hospitality. 

The  means  of  relief  in  the  case  of  Sir  Cleges,  the 
miracle  of  the  cherries  at  Christmas  time,  is  as  pleasing 

I  Launfal  (ed.  Ritson),  reprinted,  Edinburgh,  1891. 
^  Bishop  Percy's  Folio  Manuscript  (ed.  Hales  and  Furnivall),  London, 
1867,  vol.  i. 


3|ntroimctton  ixv 

as  in  any  of  the  similar  stories  mentioned.  Similar  mira- 
cles figure  not  infrequently  in  romantic  and  legendary 
story.  In  the  legend  of  St.  Dorothy  «  we  read  how  in 
response  to  the  prayer  of  the  chaste  maiden,  a  fair  child 
appears  with  a  basket  of  roses  and  apples,  which  Doro- 
thy sends  to  Theophilus.  In  the  Decameron^-  Ansaldo, 
the  lover  of  Dianara,  successfully  accomplishes  the  sup- 
posedly impossible  task  imposed  upon  him,  and  on  the 
first  of  January  made  to  spring  up  a  beautiful  garden 
from  which  he  picked  the  fairest  fruits  and  flowers  and 
sent  as  an  unwelcome  gift  to  the  surprised  lady.  In  the 
Ludus  Coventriae*  (xv),  in  the  play  on  "The  Birth 
of  Christ,"  when  Joseph  and  Mary  are  on  the  way  to 
Bethlehem  in  the  winter  time,  a  cherry-tree,  at  first 
bare,  successively  blooms,  bears  ripe  cherries,  and  finally 
bends  down  to  Joseph  whom  Mary  wishes  to  pluck 
cherries  for  her.-*  Ability  to  exhibit  fruit  out  of  season 
was  also  one  of  the  accomplishments  of  the  popular  he- 
roes of  magic,  Friar  Bacon  and  Doctor  Faustus.5  None 

I  Caxton,  Golden  Legend,  Life  of  St.  Dorothj. 

^  Tenth  day,  Novella  5. 

I  Ed.  Halliwell,  Shakspeare  Soc.  London,  1841.  Halliwell  points  out 
that"  this  fable  of  the  cherry  tree  is  the  subject  of  a  well  known  Christmas 
carol,which  has  been  printed  by  Hone,  Ancient  Mysteries  Described ,"  p.QO, 

4  That  similar  stories  circulate  in  modern  folk-tales  is  shown  by  H.  Finck 
in  the  New   York  Evening  Post  (quoted  by  the  Literary  Digest,  Jan.  7, 
1911).  He  cites  a  French  folk-tale  of  the  Department  of  Ille-et-Vilaine,  of 
an  apple-tree.  Mary  wished  to  taste  the  fruit,  and  Joseph  refused  to  gather 
the  apples  for  her,  saying  it  was  a  shame  to  touch  the  apple-tree  at  Christ- 
mas time.    Whereupon  the  branches,  of  their  own  accord,  bent  down,  and 
Mary  plucked  the  fruit.    Joseph  then  tried  to  pick  some  of  the  apples  for 
himself,  but  the  branches  suddenly  returned  on  high. 

5  W.  C.   Hazlitt,  National  Tales  and  Legends,  London,  1899,  p.  75. 
Hazlitt  cites  other  parallels,  among  them  "  Another  story  of  this  kind  in 
Painter's  4Palace  of  Pleasure.'  "  E.  K.  Chambers  (The  Mediaeval  Stage, 
I.  252,  253)  cites  the  thirteenth-century  Vita  of  St.  Hadwigis,  in  which 
appears  the  story  of  trees  in  bloom  in  mid-winter,  and  gives  reference  to  a 
number  of  parallel  stories.   The  miracle  of  the  Glastonbury  thorn  might 
also  be  cited  in  this  connection. 


3f|ntroDucttott 

of  these  stories,  however,  is  more  pleasing  than  that  of 
Sir  Cleges,  who  after  kneeling  in  prayer  ft  underneth  a 
chery-trc,"  in  rising  takes  a  branch  in  his  hand,  and — 

Gren  leuys  J>er-on  he  fond 

And  ronde  beryes  in  fere. 

The  cherries  have  an  appropriateness  in  English  story. 
They  have  always  been  a  favorite  fruit  among  the  Eng- 
lish. In  Piers  Plowman  (A  7,281)  poor  people  are 
represented  as  eating  "ripe  chiries  monye,"  x  and  one 
of  the  English  popular  institutions  was  the  cherry  fair* 
held  in  cherry  orchards.  But  the  presentation  of  a  gift 
to  the  king  seems  not  so  appropriate  to  English  story. 
It  is  hazardous  to  form  a  judgment  concerning  the  origin 
of  a  winged  tale  like  the  present  one,  but  the  presenta- 
tion of  gifts  to  a  king,  although  not  infrequent  in  Eu- 
ropean folk-tales,  seems  like  an  oriental  feature  and 
is  especially  frequent  in  oriental  story.  According  to 
Clouston,3  «  All  great  men  in  the  East  expect  a  present 
from  a  visitor,  and  look  upon  themselves  as  affronted, 
and  even  defrauded,  when  the  compliment  is  omitted. 
See  I  Samuel,  ix,  7,  and  Isaiah,  Ivii,  9."  The  same  cus- 
tom persists  to-day  among  African  tribes,  one  is  told. 

Combined  with  the  tale  of  generosity  divinely  re- 
compensed is  another  story,  of  greed  requited.  As  has 
been  said,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  whether  the  au- 
thor of  Sir  Cleges  intended  this  second  story  as  an  epi- 
sode in  the  story  of  the  generous  knight  or  if  he  intended 
the  first  part  of  the  story  to  serve  as  a  setting  for  the 
widely  known  story  of  the  blows  shared.  If  we  judge 
by  the  structure  of  such  a  story  as  Chaucer's  Nonne 

I  Version  C.  "  chiries  sam-rede." 

Z  Brand,  Popular  Antiquities,  II.  457. 

3  Popular  Tales  and  Fictions,  Edinburgh,  1887,  u.  467. 


31ntroDuctton 

Preestes  Tale  we  may  conclude  that  the  second  part 
was  intended  as  the  piece  de  resistance.  In  any  case  the 
author  has  devoted  nearly  half  of  his  narrative  to  the 
second  element,  and  it  is  this  part  of  the  story  which 
provides  the  greater  amount  of  entertainment  whether  to 
the  modern  reader  or  to  the  medieval  listener. 

The  story  of  the  man  who  is  made  to  promise  a  share 
of  an  expected  reward  to  one  or  more  greedy  servants 
and  who,  therefore,  chooses  blows  for  his  reward,  is 
one  of  the  most  wide-spread  of  tales.  The  universality 
of  its  theme  makes  it  appropriate  to  any  nation  and  to 
any  time,  and  for  that  reason  it  is  not  possible  to  assign 
it  to  any  nationality.  The  nature  of  the  tale  is  such  that 
it  would  be  vain  to  attempt  to  discover  the  exact  inter- 
relations between  the  score  and  more  of  different  extant 
versions. 

The  defmiteness  of  the  underlying  idea  in  this  story 
rendered  it  especially  suitable  for  oral  transmission. 
Hence  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  it  circulating  widely  as 
a  folk-tale.  Among  the  Arabs  it  was  well  known.  M. 
Rene  Basset x  cites  the  following  version.  A  eunuch 
promises  El  Mo'tadhib,  the  Prince  of  the  Faithful,  to 
bring  him  a  man  to  make  him  laugh.  He  introduces  a 
street  story-teller  named  Ibn  el  Maghazik,  but  exacts 
from  him  a  promise  of  half  the  expected  reward.  Ibn 
fails,  and  is  ordered  to  be  given  ten  strokes.  He  asks 
that  the  ten  be  made  twenty.  When  he  has  received 
ten,  he  explains  that  the  other  half  of  the  reward  is  to 
go  to  the  eunuch.  The  king  laughs. 

I  Ren6  Basset,  Contes  et  Legendes  Arabes,  no.  57,  Rev.  des  trad.  pop. 
xii.  675-7  M.  Basset  cites  several  other  Arabic  versions  of  this  story, 
besides  two  Italian  folk-tales. 


2flntroimction 

Another *  Arabic  version  passed  over  among  the 
Berbers.  A  chief  bids  his  servant  find  a  man  to  make 
him  laugh.  If  the  chief  is  made  to  laugh,  he  will  pay  a 
hundred  r'eaux  ;  if  not,  a  hundred  blows.  The  servant 
brings  El*  Askolani,  but  demands  half  of  the  r'eaux  in 
case  of  success.  El*  Askolani  fails,  and  the  chief  orders 
that  one  hundred  strokes  be  given.  When  the  story- 
teller has  received  fifty,  he  bids  give  the  remaining  fifty 
to  the  servant,  at  the  same  time  explaining  the  servant's 
stipulation.  The  chief  doubles  up  with  laughter  and 
gives  El'  Askolani  one  hundred  reaux. 

An  Italian  popular  tale,  in  which  a  stupid  boy  pre- 
sents a  fine  fish  to  the  king,  but  is  made  to  promise 
shares  of  the  expected  reward  to  three  servants,  is  told 
by  Marc.  Monnier.2  A  Greek  popular  story  with  a  sim- 
ilar beginning  but  with  the  conclusion  rendered  ineffec- 
tive, is  told  by  E.  Legrand.3  From  Italy  John  G.  Saxe 
supposedly  derived  the  version  that  he  tells  under  the 
title,  "  The  Nobleman,  the  Fisherman,  and  the  Porter, 
An  Italian  Legend."  In  Italy  the  story  is  also  told  by 
Sacchetti*  and  by  Straparola.5  In  Spain  it  appears  in 
the  Cuentos  de  Juan  Ar  agones,6  no.  3.  In  Sweden  it 
is -produced  by  Backstrom  in  his  Svenske  Voksbocker(2t 

I  R.  Basset,  Nouveaux  Contes  Bcrbercs,  Paris,  1897,  no.  119,"  Part  a 
deux."  In  this  volume  M.  Basset  discusses  numerous  other  versions,  in 
Arabic,  Italian,  German,  and  French. 

^  Let  Contes  Populaires  en  Italie,  pp.  fcj6,  237.  An  Italian  version,  Ne- 
rucci,  Sessanta  Novelle  Populari  Montalesi,  Florence,  1880,  Nov  2,7,  La 
Novella  di  Sonno,  pp.  233-7. 

3  Recueil  de  Contes  Populaires  Grecs,  Paris,  l88l,  pp.  53-55. 

4  Novelle,  Milano,  1815,  vol.  in.  p.  169. 

5  Notti  Piacevoli,  Notta  7,  Favola  3. 

6  Another  Spanish  version  cited  by  Oesterley  (in  his  edition  of  Schimpf 
und  Ernst)  is  that  in  the  Margerita   Facetiarum^  Alfonsi  Aragon,  Reg. 
Vafredicti,  etc.,  Argent.  1508,  p.  4b. 


3!ntroDuction 

p.  78,  n.  30).  In  Germany  it  appears  in  Pauli's 
Scbimpf  und  Ernst  (no.  614),  in  Grimm's  Kinder 
und  Hausmarcben  (no.  7),  and  in  a  poem  by  C.  F. 
G.  Hahn,1  organist  at  Dargun,  entitled  "  Wallenstein 
und  der  kiihne  Pferdehirte  aus  der  Umgegend  von  Gust- 
row." 

In  the  world's  noodle  literature  the  story  is  one  fre- 
quently occurring.  The  adventure  is  attributed  to  the 
famous  Turkish  court-fool,  Nasureddin  Chodscha,2  who 
presented  early  cucumbers  to  Tamburlane.  In  German 
jest-books  it  was  one  of  the  best-known  adventures  of 
the  celebrated  Pfarrer  von  Kalenberg.3  In  England  a 
similar  story  appears  in  "  The  Pleasant  Conceites  of 
Old  Hobson  the  Merry  Londoner."  4 

The  same  story  appears  in  the  form  of  anecdotes 
connected  with  various  persons.  The  anecdote  is  told 
of  the  Italian  actor  Mezzetin  5  (fl.  1688-97).  Mezze- 
tin  had  dedicated  a  piece  to  the  Duke  of  Saint  Aignan, 
who  paid  liberally  for  dedications.  He  called  on  the 
Duke.  The  Swiss  guard,  suspecting  the  purpose  of  his 
visit,  was  unwilling  to  admit  him.  Mezzetin  offered 
him  a  third  of  the  expected  gift.  On  the  stairway  he 
was  obliged  to  make  the  same  promise  to  the  first 
lackey,  and  in  the  ante-chamber  a  like  one  to  the  valet 
de  chambre.  When  he  came  into  the  presence  of  the 

I  Mecklenburg's  Volks-Sagcn,  col.  &  ed.  by  A.  Niederhoffer,  Leipzig, 
1859,  HI.  196-199. 

^  Flogel,  Geschichte  der  Hofnarren,  176-178. 

3  F.  W.  Ebeling,  Die  Kahlenberger,  Berlin,  1890;  F.  Bobertag,  Narren* 
buch,  Berlin,  1885,  pp.  7-86;   F.  H.  von  der  Hagen,  Narrenbuch,  Halle, 
1811,  pp.  271-351;  Ljrum  Larum  Lyrissimum,  1700, no.  184;  Henrici  Be- 
belii,  Facetiarum,  TUbingen,  1544,  Lib.  II.  (The  last  two  reference*  are 
from  Liebrecht-Dunlop,  History  of  Fiction,  II.  153  note.) 

4  W.  C.  Hazlitt,  Snakes?  earths  Jest  Books,  p.  40,  no.  14. 

5  L.  Moland,  Moliirt  et  la  Comidie  Italienne,  pp.  375-6. 


ixx  3|ntroBuctton 

Duke,  Mezzetin  said,  "  Here  is  a  theatrical  piece 
which  I  take  the  liberty  of  presenting  to  you  and  for 
which  I  ask  that  you  give  me  a  hundred  coups  de  baton." 
On  hearing  Mezzetin' s  explanation,  the  Duke  gave  the 
servants  a  severe  reprimand  and  sent  I  oo  louis  to  Mez- 
zetin's  wife,  who  had  promised  nothing  to  the  servants. 
Tallemantdes  Reaux l  tells  the  same  anecdote  concerning 
the  actor  Jodelet.  In  this  case  the  actor  asked  his  pa- 
tron, the  Chancellor  Sequier,  to  distribute  a  hundred 
coups  de  baton  among  four  valets  de  cbambre  who  had 
successively  exacted  promises. 

This  story,  appearing  so  frequently  in  folk-tale,  in 
jest-book,  and  in  biographical  anecdote,  has  a  very 
obvious  moral.  This  moral  element  made  the  story  a 
useful  one  to  the  medieval  preacher,  and  it  appears  in 
books  otexempla.  In  the  Summa  Praedicantium  of  John  2 
of  Bromyard  it  appears  (fol.  C  xiii.  b)  under  the 
heading  Invidia.  This  exemplum,  which  is  reprinted 
in  Wright's  "Latin  Stories,"  3  runs  as  follows  :  ( A  cer- 
tain man  coming  to  the  Emperor  Frederick  with  fruits 
of  which  the  Emperor  was  very  fond,  was  unable  to 
gain  admittance  unless  he  should  pay  to  the  door  keeper 
half  his  gain.  The  emperor,  delighted  with  the  fruits, 
bade  the  bearer  ask  for  something  in  return.  The  man 
asked  that  the  emperor  command  that  a  hundred  blows 
be  given  him.  When  the  emperor  learned  the  cause,  he 
ordered  the  blows  of  the  bearer  of  the  fruits,  to  be  paid 
lightly,  those  of  the  door  keeper,  heavily.'  Another  in- 
teresting exemplum  version  of  the  story  is  that  in  the 

I  Tallemant  des  Reaux,  Memoir*  of  Chancellor  Sequier. 

a  See  Bibliography. 

3  Percy  Society  Publications,  vm.  ill. 


Slntrotwction  ixxi 

English  Gesta  Romanorum,1  no,  xc.  This  version, 
like  the  one  in  the  Sir  Cleges,  has  an  elaborate  intro- 
duction. In  certain  essential  details  also  it  closely  resem- 
bles the  Sir  Cleges  version.  A  king  had  two  sons.  To 
one  he  gave  his  kingdom;  to  the  other,  a  prodigal,  he 
gave  the  choice  between  two  caskets.  The  chosen 
casket  contained  twenty  shillings;  to  these  the  king 
added  a  penny.  Thus  provided,  the  prince  met  a  man 
with  a  pannier  containing  a  wonderful  fish  with  gold 
head,  silver  body  and  green  tail.  He  bought  the  fish 
for  twenty  shillings  and  paid  the  remaining  penny  for 
the  pannier.  He  bore  the  pannier  with  the  fish  to  the 
manor  house  of  a  great  lord.  The  porter  demanded  the 
head  of  the  fish,  and  instead  of  it  the  prince  promised 
him  half  the  expected  reward.  The  usher  of  the  hall 
demanded  the  body  and  was  promised  half  of  the  re- 
maining reward.  The  chamberlain,  who  demanded  the 
tail,  was  promised  half  the  remaining  part.  The  noble 
lord,  upon  receipt  of  the  gift,  bade  the  prince  ask  a  boon. 
The  servants  advised  various  requests,  but  the  prince 
asked  twelve  buffets.  The  lord  granted  the  request  re- 
garding the  buffets  to  be  divided,  but  threw  in  for  good 
measure  his  daughter  and  his  kingdom  for  the  prince 
alone. 

The  great  variety  *  in  the  forms  of  this  popular  tale 
will  have  been  noticed.   The  one  who  asks  for  the  blows 

I  E.  E.  T.  S.  Extra  series,  xxxiu.  413-416,  no.  xc. 

^  There  are  in  circulation  many  similar  tales,  such  as  the  Tale  of  the 
Three  Wishes  (cf.  Bedier,  pp.  zzo,  Z2,i),  the  Dit  du  Buffet  (cf.  Montaig- 
lon  et  Raynaud,  Notes)  the  Envious  and  the  Avaricious  (cf.  J.  W.  Jacobs, 
of.  d/.,  Notes),  besides  scattering  folk-tales  and  adventures  like  those  of 
Til  Eulenspiegel.  Most  like  of  all,  and  closely  associated  with  the  story  of 
the  blows  shared,  is  the  one  called  "  Luckily  they  are  not  Peaches  "  (Cf, 
W.  A.  Clouston,  Pop.  Tales  &  Fictions,  n.  467  ff.) 


ixxii  Introduction 

is  in  one  story  a  groom,  in  another  a  prince;  in  one  a 
stupid  peasant  boy,  in  another  a  witty  actor.  The  num- 
ber of  greedy  servants  varies  from  one  to  four,  of  the 
blows,  from  two  to  five  hundred.  The  variety  of  gifts 
offered  in  the  different  versions  includes  cucumbers,  ap- 
ples, berries,  cherries,  a  falcon,  and  a  fish,  or  the  offer- 
ing is  a  good  story  or  a  good  play.  The  tale  is  told  merely 
to  excite  a  laugh,  or  to  point  a  moral.  The  people  who 
tell  it  are  Berbers  in  Africa,  Arabs  in  Asia,  Germans, 
Swedes,  Spaniards,  Greeks,  Italians,  and  English  in 
Europe.  But  in  all  its  migrations  and  with  all  the  vari- 
ation in  detail,  the  essential  idea  remains  constant. 

None  of  the  versions  of  this  protean  tale  known  to 
the  present  writer  could  have  served  as  the  exact  original 
for  the  English  Sir  Cleges.  Nor  is  it  known  who  was 
the  author  or  whether  the  English  story  is  a  translation 
from  the  French  or  an  original  English  composition.  But 
though  singularly  neglected x  by  earlier  literary  historians, 
it  is  a  highly  interesting  composition.  Its  faults  are  evi- 
dent. It  is  a  mongrel  composition  consisting  of 'a  fabliau 
tale  forming  an  episode  in  a  conte  devot  and  the  whole 
provided  with  an  Arthurian  setting.  The  scenes  of  the 
story  in  general  lack  the  distinctness  which  usually  char- 
acterizes the  scenes  in  Chaucer's  works.  The  characters 
lack  the  many-sidedness  of  reality;  they  are  little  more 
than  types.  For  instance  there  is  little  attempt  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  porter,  the  usher,  and  the  steward. 
Each  represents  the  same  type,  that  of  the  greedy  ser- 
vant. The  description  of  Sir  Cleges  is  like  that  burlesqued 

I  The  story  of  Sir  Cleges  is  not  mentioned  by  Korting,  nor  by  Ten 
Brink ;  Jusserand  mentions  it  only  in  a  footnote. 


3|ntroDu(tton 

in  Sir  Tbopas.  The  manner  too  is  stiff;  the  humorous 
anecdote  is  not  presented  in  correspondingly  humorous 
style.  But  with  all  these  faults,  the  story  is  a  pleasing  one. 
Besides  the  interest  it  aifords  as  a  narrative,  the  story, 
while  not  offering  clear  pictures,  does  give  interesting 
details  of  minstrel  customs,  of  life  in  the  hall,  of  domes- 
tic relations  and  of  Christmas  cheer.  There  is  a  sweet 
domesticity  in  the  scene  where,  after  Cleges  has  been 
comforted  by  his  loyal  wife,  '  they  wash  and  go  to  meat ' 
and  then  '  drive  the  time  away  with  mirth '  in  playing 
with  their  children,  and  a  prettiness  of  detail  in  the  scene 
where  Cleges,  kneeling  in  prayer  under  the  tree,  finds 
the  branch  in  his  hand  covered  with  green  leaves  and 
'  beryes  '  in  clusters.  The  last  part  of  the  story  makes 
up  in  comedy  of  situation  what  it  lacks  in  appropriateness 
to  the  main  theme.  It  is  this  part  of  the  story  which  is 
told  with  greatest  gusto.  The  truculent  manners  of  the 
king's  attendants  are  brought  out  with  great  distinctness 
by  the  minstrel  who  doubtless  had  himself  experienced 
treatment  similar  to  that  experienced  by  Sir  Cleges  and 
been  obliged  to  sit  in  the  «  beggars  row. '  The  minstrel 
lingers  with  evident  satisfaction  over  the  details  of  the 
blows  paid  to  the  servants. 

The  fyrst  stroke  he  leyd  hym  onne, 
He  brake  a-two  hys  schulder  bone, 
And  hys  ryjht  arme  also. 

There  are  no  fine  shades  of  humor  here,  but  doubtless 
the  details  were  relished  by  a  gleeman's  audience,  and 
they  are  not  entirely  unpalatable  to  the  modern  reader, 
it  must  be  confessed. 

The  Sir  Cleges  is  preserved  in  two  paper  manuscripts, 


^Introduction 

both  belonging  to  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century ;  one 
MS.  Jac.  v.  7,  27,  in  the  Advocates'  Library  at  Edin- 
burgh, the  other,  Ashmole  MS.  61,  in  the  Bodleian 
Library  at  Oxford.  The  text  of  the  Edinburgh  manu 
script  was  printed  by  Henry  Weber,  in  his  Metrical 
Romances,  Edinburgh,  1810,  i.  329  ff.  The  two  texts 
have  been  printed  in  parallel  columns  by  A.  Treichel, 
Englische  Studien,  xxn.  374  ff.  The  Oxford  text  is 
printed  in  the  present  volume. 

Between  the  texts  in  these  two  manuscripts  there  are 
many  points  of  difference  *  in  detail.  As  has  been  said, 
the  story  is  a  minstrel  story,  and  it  has  evidently  been 
written  down  twice  independently,  from  oral  recitation 
or  from  memory.  The  differences  are  such  as  one  would 
expect  to  originate  in  oral  transmission.  Neither  manu- 
script is  derived  from  the  other;  both  texts  go  back  to  a 
common  original,  and  in  each  appear  variations  originat- 
ing in  the  independent  line  of  transmission.  The  two 
manuscripts  complement  each  other  admirably.  When 
single  lines,  or  more  frequently,  three  lines,  of  a  stanza, 
are  missing  in  one,  they  can  be  supplied  from  the  other. 
In  some  important  details  the  Edinburgh  text  is  the 
better  one,  but  in  the  present  volume  the  Oxford  text 
has  been  printed  because  the  Edinburgh  lacks  some  stan- 
zas at  the  end.  The  Edinburgh  text  has,  however,  been 
used  to  supply  lines  missing  in  the  Oxford  text.  The 
most  important  variations  are  indicated  in  the  notes. 

The  verse  form  used  in  theS/r  C leges  is  the  twelve-line 

I  Treichel,  op.  cit.  pp.  359  ff.,  gives  a  careful  discussion  of  the  differences 
between  the  two  manuscripts.  The  Edinburgh  MS.  has  $31  verses,  the  Ox- 
ford 570.  Only  180  lines,  about  one  third,  are  exactly  alike.  Of  the  remain- 
der, 108  differ  in  one  word,  so  that  nearly  half  th«  verses  are  unlike  in  sev- 
eral words,  or  entirely  unlike. 


^Introduction 

tail-rime  stanza.  The  regular  rime  scheme  is  a  a  b  c  c  b 
d  d  b  e  e  b.  Variations  from  this  scheme  are  found  in  the 
Oxford  manuscript  only  in  stanzas  16,  17,  19,  33,  41, 
46  and  47.  Assonance  appears  in  a  few  instances.  There 
are  also  a  few  instances  of  impure  rime,  but  several  of 
the  apparent  instances  are  due  to  the  scribe.  Alliteration 
is  not  an  organic  feature  of  the  verse,  but  occurs  occa- 
sionally, either  through  the  survival  of  old  formulae  or 
through  the  use  of  two  words  with  the  same  root.  For 
a  detailed  discussion  of  the  metrical  features,  see  Treichel, 
op.  cit.  364  ff. 

The  dialect  of  the  original  work  is  somewhat  disguised 
on  account  of  scribal  peculiarities.  In  the  Oxford  man- 
uscript appear  frequent  Scottish  features.  From  the  ev- 
idence, however,  of  the  rimes  common  to  the  two  ver- 
sions and  of  the  inflectional  forms,  Treichel  (op.  cit. 
371  ff. )  concludes  that  the  original  work  was  composed 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  Midland  of  England.  In  the 
present  volume  the  different  inflectional  forms  will  be 
found  registered  in  the  glossary. 

From  the  evidence  of  the  rimes  /j/,  yte  and  ee,  y, 
Treichel  (op.  cit.  374)  sets  the  date  of  composition  at 
not  earlier  than  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century. 


x 

>  t)\5  • 


C\  come»ce  le  fablel  rt  la  cointise  dc  dame  siriz.    cT>  .  ^f^t^a 

As  I  com  bi  an  waie, 
Hof  o_n  ich  herde  sale, 

Ful  modi  mon  and  proud; 
Wis  he  wes  of  lore,          < 
And  gouj^lich  vnder^gQre^ 

And  closed  in  feir  sroud. 

~~  /^''^C 

To  louien  he  bigon 
On  wedded  wimmon, 

per-of  he  heuede  wrong  ; 
His  herte  hire  wes  ajon, 
]>at  reste  neuede  he  non, 

pe  loue  wes  so  strong. 

Wei  $erne  he  him  bij?oute 
Hou  he  hire  gete  moute 
In  ani  cunne&jvise. 

In  the  variant  readings,  W.  =  Wright,  M.  =  Matzner.  Besides 
the  variants  indicated  W.  &  M.  have  regularly  tk  for  p  and  v  for 
consonantal  u.  In  the  text  of  the  present  volume  the  punctuation 
is  supplied  by  the  editor. 

Title.  MS.  comece,  W.  fables,  MS.  fablel.  —7  W.  &  M.  be- 
gon.  —  9  W.  &  M.  Therof.  —  .  13  W.  &  M.  bi-thoute. 


2  2E>ame 

pat  befel  on  an  day 
pe  louerd  wend  away 

Hon  his  marchaundise. 


He  wente  him^to  )>en  inne 
per  hoe  wonede  inne, 

pat  wes  riche  won  ; 
And  com  in  to  }>en  halle, 

"ber  hoe  wes  srud  wib  palle, 
TT    ,  ,       iT^i  • 
And  )?us  he  bigon  :  — 

44  f^^\  od  almiatten  be  her-inne!  " 

u  Welcome,  so  ich  euer  bide  wenne," 


«  His  hit  YI  wille,  com  and  site, 
And  wat  is  }?i  wille  let  me  wite, 

Mi  leuelif.    »  30 

j  f&*u£tj  ^^u-4-- 

Bi  houre  louerd,  heuene-king, 
If  I  mai  don  ani  j?ing 

pat  ]?e  is  lef, 

pou  mi^tt  finden  me  ful  fre. 

Fol  ble^eli  willi  don  for  J?e,  35 

gref." 


22  W.  &  M.  into,  M.  them.  —  25   MS.  her  inne.  —  27  W.  & 
M.  Quod.—  28   W.  &  M.  comme.  —  30  W.  &  M.  leve  lif.—  36 
.  Wi>  houten,  W.  &  M.  Withhouten. 


SDame 

"  Dame,  god  )?e  forjelde, 

Bote  on  ]?at  J>ou  me  nout  bimelde, 

Ne  make  J?e  wro]?, 

Min  hernde  willi  to  J?e  bede  ;  40 

Bote  wraj?J;en  ]?e  for  ani  dede 

Were  me  loj>." 


"Nai  I-wjs,  wilekin, 

For  no-);ing  J?at  euer  is  min, 

pau  ]?ou  hit  ^irne,  45 

Houncurteis  ne  willi  be;      ^  r> 

Ne  con  I  nout  qr^vilte,  ^«^-^  ^ 

Ne  nout  I  nelle  lerne. 

pou  mait  saien  al  ]>ine  wille, 

And  I  shal  herknen  and  sitten  stille.         co 

*  £    ft  JW 

-Htc  pat  J?ou  haue  told. 

And  if  J;at  )?ou  me  tellest  skij^ 
I  shal  don  after  ]?i  wil, 
~    pat  be^J?ou  bold. 


And  J;au  )?ou  saie  me  ani  same,  55 

Ne  shal  I  J?e  noui^t  blame 

For  YI  sawe." 

a  Nou  ich  haue  wonne  leue, 
3if  ]?at  I  me  shulde  greue, 

Hit  were  hounlawe. 


37  W.  &  M.  for-jelde.  —  38  W.  &  M.  bi  melde.  -43  W.  & 
M.  i-wis.  —  44  MS.  no  >ing.  —49  M.  alle.  —  60  W.  &  M. 
hounlaw. 


ffi>ame  j&irtj 

Certes,  dame,  j?ou  seist  asjiende 
And  I  shal  setten  spel  on  ende, 

And  tellen  J;e  al, 
Wat  ich  wolde,  and  wi  ich  com; 
Ne  con  ich  saien  non  falsdom, 

Ne  non  I  ne  shal. 

Ich  habbe  I-loued  J?e  moni  $er, 
pau  ich  nabbe  nout  ben  her 

Mi  loue  to  schowe. 

Wile  J?i  louerd  is  in  toune,  70 

Ne  mai  no  mon  wi)?  )?e  holden  roune 

WiJ?  no  J?ewe. 

u.  Jufstemhy  ich  herde  saie, 
As  ich  wende  bi  )?e  waie, 

Of  oure  sire  ;  75 

Me  tolde  me  )?at  he  was  gon 
To  )?e  feire  of  botolfston 
In  Imcolne-schire. 

And  for  ich  weste  j?at  he  ves  houte, 
parfore  ich  am  I-gon  aboute  <-       80 

To  speken  wiJ?  )?e. 
Him  bur)?jp  liken  wel  his  lif, 
pat  mhtte  welde  secc  a  vif 

T  •      ' 

In  pnuite. 

64  W.  &M.  What.— 67  W.  &M.i-loved.  —  73  W.&M. 
jursten-dai.  —  78  W.  &  M.  Lincolneschire,  MS.  lincolne  schire. 
—  80  W.  &  M.  i-gon.  —  83  W.  sett,  M.  selc. 

' 


ffl>ame 

Dame,  if  hit  is  J?i  wille,  85 

Bo]>  dernelike  and  stille, 

Ich  wille  J?e  loue." 
"pat  woldi  don  for  non  J?in[g], 
Bi  houre  louerd,  heuene-king, 

Pat  ous  is  bouef  90 

Ich  habe  mi  louerd  J?at  is  mi  spouse, 

pat  maiden  broute  me  to  house  J 

Midmeriskel-nou;     -&*~*«       [/Un/^u 
He  louej?  me  and  ich  him  wel, 
Oure  loue  is  also  trewe  as  stel,  95 

WiJ?-houten  wou. 

pau  he  be  from  horn  on  his  hernde, 
Ich  were  ounseli,  if  ich  lernede 

To  ben  on  hore. 
pat  ne  shal  neuere  be, 
pat  I  shal  don  selk  falsete, 

On  bedde  ne  on  flore. 


Neuer  more  his 

Thau  he  were  on  hondred  mile 

Bi-^ende  rome, 
For  no  J^ing  ne  shuldi  take 
Mon  on  erj?e  to  ben  mi  make, 

Ar  his  horn-come." 

88  MS.  J>in.  —  92  M.  meiden.  —  93  W.  &M.  i-nou.  MS.  I 
nou.  —  96  W.  &  M.  With  houten,  MS.  Wip  houten.  —  101  W. 
&  M.  falsete.  —  105  MS.  Bi  jende  rome.  —  106  W.  &  M.  shuld  I. 


2>ame 

«  "I "Vaine,  dame,  torn  j?i  mod; 

J      J  pi  curteisi  was  euer  god,  no 

•^-"^  And  $et  shal  be ; 
For  |?e  louerd  ]?at  ous  haue)?  wrout, 
Amend  ]?i  mod,  and  torn  J?i  J?out, 
And  rew  on  me." 

"We,  we!  oldest  J?ou  me  a  fol  ?  115 

So  ich  euer  mote  biden  30!,  /t*if,  X'** 

pou  art  ounwis. 

Mi  ]?out  ne  shalt  J?ou  newer  wende; 
Mi  louerd  is  curteis  mon  and  hende, 

And  mon  of  pxis  ;    unfMU  •  120 

And  ich  am  wif  bo]?e  god  and  trewe ; 
Trewer  womon  ne  mai  no  mon  cnowe 

pen  ich  am. 

pilke  time  ne  shal  neuer  bitide 
**\  pat  mon  for  wouing;  ne  J?oru  prude        1*5 


Shal  do  me  scham." 

"  Swete  leumon,  merci ! 
Same  ne  vilani  _#^ 
Ne  tjgj^eljTejion ; 

As  mon  |?at  wolde  of  loue  spede, 
And  fi[n]de  won." 

124  W.  &  M.  bi-tide.  —  127  W.  &  M.  lemmon,  MS. 
or  leumon  (?).  —  132  MS.  &  W.  fide. 


H>ame  fetrtj  7 

"  So  bide  Ich  euere  me£e  o]?er  drjflke, 
Her  J?ou  lesest  al  j?i  swinke ; 
pou  mi^t  gon  horn,  leue  broker,  135 

For  [ne]  wille  ich  }?e  loue,  ne  non  oj?er, 
Bote  mi  wedde_houssebonde ;     U&id&skL 
To  tellen  hit  J?e  ne  wille  ich  wonde." 

44  Certes,  dame,  J?at  me  for)?inke)?;  >•  / 
An[d]  wo  is  J?e  mon  )?a  [t]  muchel  swinke]?,  140 
And  at  ]?e  laste  lesej?  his  sped  ! 
To  maken  menis  his  him  ned. 
Bi  me  I  saie  ful  I-wis,  c^^  /j  ^ 

pat  loue  )?e  loue  ]>at  I  shal  mis.       (\UCMS°**\   * 
An[d],  dame,  haue  nou  godnedai ! 
And  }?ilke  louerd,  J?at  al  welde  mai, 
Leue  ]?at  ]?i  J?out  so  tourne, 
pat  ihc  for  J;e  no  lengjie  mourne.'i-^ 

Dreri-mod  he  wente  awai, 

And  J?oute  bo]?e  ni^t  and  dai  150 

Hire  al  for  to  wende. 
A  frend  him  radde  for  to  fare, 
And  leuen  al  his  muchele  kare, 

To  dame  siriz  J?e  hende. 

133  W.  &  M.  ich.  — 136  MS.  om.  «  ne.'  —  139  W.  &  M. 

for-thinketh. —  140  MS.  An,  W.  &  M.  And,  MS.  J?a 143 

W.  &  M.  i-wis.  MS.  I.  wis. — 145  MS.  An.  W.  &  M.  godne  dai. — 
149  M.  Dreri-mod.  —  154  MS.  siriz,  as  usually. 


SDame 

pider  he  wente  him  anon, 
So  suibe  so  he  mhtte  eon, 

No  mon  he  ni  mette. 
Ful  he  wes  of  tene  and  treie  ; 
Mid  wordes  mildeHmti-^sleie 

Faire  he  hire  grette. 

"  God  J>e  I-blessi,  dame  siriz  ! 
Ich  am  I-com  to  speken  J?e  wiz, 

Fo.r  ful  muchele  nede- 
And  jch  mai  haue  help  of  J?e 
au'   pou  shalt  haue,  )?at  J?ou  shalt  se,       .  ,6s 

Ful  riche  mede." 


"  Welcomen  art  )?ou,  leue  sone  ; 

And  if  ich  mai  o]?er  cone    ^P 

In  eni  wise  for  )?e  do, 

I  shal  streng]7en  me  j?er-to. 

For-)?i,  leue  sone,  tel  J?ou  me 

Wat  )?ou  woldest  I  dude  for  ]?e." 
u  Bote,  leue  nelde,  ful  euele  I  fare  ; 

I  lede  mi  lif  wij?  tene  and  kare; 

WiJ?  muchel  hounsele  ich  lede  mi  lif, 
And  ]?at  is  for  on  suete  wif 
pat  hei^tte  margeri. 

161  W.  &  M.  i-blessi.  MS.  I.  blessi.  —  162  W.  &  M.  i-com. 
MS.  I-com.  —  170  W.  &  M.  ther-to.  —  171  W.  &  M.  For-thi. 
—  173  W.  &  M.  Nelde. 


HDame 

Ich  haue  I-loued  hire  moni  dai,     ^ 
And  of  hire  loue  hoe  seiz  me  nai  ; 

Hider  ich  com  for-]?i.  £fci  180 

ote  if  hoe  wende  hire  mod,  r*** 

or  serewe  mon  ich  wakese  wod,  £*PH 

Oj?er  mi  selue  quelle. 
Ich  heuede  I-J?out  miself  to  slo  ; 
For-J;en  radde  a  frend  me  go  185 

To  ]?e  mi  sereue  telle. 

He  saide  me,  wij?-houten  faille, 
pat  ]?ou  me  cou)?est  helpe  and 

And  bringen  me  of  wo 
foru  )nne  crafftes  and  )?ine  dedes  ; 
ich  wiYe'jeue  )?e 
}?at  hit  be  so." 


"  Benedicite_bejieriniie  ! 

Her  hauest  )?ou,  sone,  mikel  senn 

Louerd,  for  his  suete  nome,  i95 

Lete  ]>e  )?erfore  hauen  no  shome! 

pou  <M»nipQf  afftpr^orlpc  grome 

Wen  J?ou  seist  on  me  silk  blame. 

For  ich  am  old,  and  sek  and  lame  ; 

Seknesse  haue]?  maked  me  ful  tame. 

178  W.  &  M.  i-loved.  MS.  I.  loued.—  179  W.  &  M.  seith. 
—  1  80  W.  &  M.  for-thi.  —  183  W.  &  M.  miselve.  —  184  W. 
&  M.  i-thout.  —  187  W.  &  M.  withhouten.  —  188  W.  &  M.  vaile. 


i 


Bl£S$eJ?e,  blesse  J;e,  leue  knaue  ! 

Leste  ]?ou  mes-auenter  haue, 

For  J?is  lesing  j?at  is  founden 

Opp-on  me,  J?at  am  harde  I-bonden. 

Ich  am  on  holi  wimon,  205 

On  wicchecrafft  nout  I  ne  con,  Q*s^ 

Bote  wi)?  goclernen  almesdede.  . 

Iljce  dai  mi  lif  I  fede,  ^uotou> 

And  bidde  mi  patar  noster  and  mi  crede, 

Q\J  L  lr^  Pat  goej^hem  helpe  at  hore  nede,  al° 

H  &  pat  helpen  me  mi  lif  to  lede, 

And  leue  J>at  hem  mote  wel  spede. 

His  lif  and  his  soule  wor]?e  I-shend,  ' 

pat  j;e  to  me  J?is  hernde  haue]?  send ; 

And  leue  me  to  ben  I-wreken  215 

On  him  )?is  shome  me  hauej?  spek<?#." 


T"      cue  nelde,  bilef  al  )?is  ; 
I          Me  )?inke)?  ]?a[t]  ];ou  art  onwis 
-* —     pe  mon  )?at  me  to  ]?e  taute, 
He  weste  }>at  ]?ou  hous  cou^est  sa 
"    Ip,  dame  sirij?,  if  j^^ " 
o  make  me  wi)?  ]?e  sueting 


201  W.  &  M.  bless.  —  202  W.  &  M.  mesaventer,  MS.  mes 
auenter.  — 204  W.  &  M.  Oppon,  i-bonden,  MS.  I  bonden.  — 
207  W.  &  M.  witchecrafft.  —  209  W.  &  M.  pater-noster. — 
213  W.  &  M.  i-shend.  —  215  W.  &  M.  i-wreken. —  216  W. 
&  M.  speken.  — 217  W.  &  M.  Nelde.  bi-lef. —  218  MS.  pa ; 
W.  &  M.  that.  —  220  W.  touhest,  MS.  coupest  or  toupest(?). 


H>ame 


II 


;,/^* 


^  **     Ji<-s 
/ 


- 


And  ich  wille  geue  J>e  gift  ful  stark, 
Moni  a  pound  and  moni  a  marke, 
Warme  pilche  and  warme  shon, 
WiJ?  |?at  min  hernde  be  wel  don. 
Of  muchel  godlec  mi^t  ]?ou  $elpe, 
If  hit  be  so  j?at  |?ou  me  helpe." 

Lh  me  nout,  wilekin,  bi  In  leute 

/ 
Is  hit  J?in  hernest  J?ou  tekest  me  ?  o- 

Louest  ]?ou  wel  dame  margeri  ?  " 
Je,  nelde,  witerli ; 
Ich  hire  loue,  hit  mot  me  spille, 
Bote  ich  gete  hire  to  mi  wille." 
"  Wat,  god  wilekin,  me  rewe]?  J?i  scaj?e 
Houre  louerd  .sende  ]?e  help  ra}?e ! 


Weste  hid  hit  mi^tte  ben  forhol^n, 
Me  wolde  }?unche  wel  solen 

pi  wille  for  to  fullen. 
Make  me  siker  wiJ?  word  on  honde, 
pat  ]?ou  wolt  helen,  and  I  wile  fonde 

If  ich  mai  hire  tellen. 


240 


For  al  J?e  world  ne  woldi  nout 
pat  ich  were  to  chapitre  I-brout 
For  none  selke  werkes. 


224  MS.  apound,  amarke.  —  230  W.  tehest,  M.  techest.  — 
232  W.  &  M.  Nelde.  —235  MS.  wilekin.—  236  MS.  louerd. 
—  237  W.  &  M.  for-holen.  —  244  W.  &  M.  i-brout. 


12  SDame 

Mi  iugement  were  sone  I-giuen 
To  ben  wij;  shome  spmer  driuen^ 
Wi}?  prestes  and  with  clarkes.'>x 

CO^\V^Ar-^^--A 

"  I-wis,  nelde,  ne  woldi  »S° 

pat  J?ou  heuedest  uilani  r    Al 

Ne  shame  for  mi  goed. 
Her  I  J?e  mi  troupe  pli^tte, 
Ich  shal  helen  bi  mi  mi^tte, 
Bi  J?e  holi  roed  !  " 

u  Welcome,  wilekin,  hiderward ; 
Her  hauest  I-maked  a  foreward 

pat  ]?e  mai  ful  wel  like, 
pou  mai^t  blesse  )?ilke  si}?, 

]?ou  mai^t  make  }?e  Jd^li}?^    ^  26° 

ar  J?ou  namore  sike. 


euer  come  j?ou  hider,  y*&*  < 
or  sone  willi  gange  J>ider, 
And  maken  hire  hounderstonde.     .fr^r\\ 
I  shal  kenne  hire  sulke  a  lore^  265 

pat  hoe  shal  louien  ]?e  mikel  more 
pen  ani  mon  In  londe." 

246  W.  &  M.  jugement,  i-given.  —  249  W.  &  M.  I-wis,  Nelde. 
—  250  W.  &  M.  vilani.  —  255  MS.  wilekin.  256  W.  &  M. 
i-maked.  —  261  W.  To  geder  hele,  M.  To  goder  hele.  W.  &  M. 
hide[r].  —  264  MS.  alore.  —  266  W.  &  M.  in. 


u  Al  so  haul  godes  grij?, 
Wel  hauest  ]?ou  said,  dame  siri]?, 

And  gode&Jiele  shal  ben  J?in. 
Haue  her  tjventi  shiling, 

:  to  meding, 
£*»y        J^buggen  }?e  sep  and  swin." 


1  So  ich  euere  brouke  hbus  o)?er  flet, 
Neren  neuer  penes  beter  biset 

pen  j?es  shulen  ben. 
For  I  shal  don  a  iiipirti, 
And  a  ferH  maistrf,    r 

pat  )?ou  shalt  ful  wel  sen. 


280 


Pepir  aoiL  shalt  ]?ou  eten, 
pis  mustart  shal  ben  ]?i  mete, 

And  gar  Jnn  eien  to  rene ;     '* 
I  shal  make  a  lesing 
Of  ]?in  heie-renning, 

Ich  wot  wel  wer  and  wenne. 


"  Wat !  nou  const  ]?ou  no  god  ? 

Me  JnnkeJ;  ]?at  )?ou  art  wod : 

^euest  ]?o  J?e  welpe  mustard  ? 
"  Be  stille,  boinard  !  o  "       j 

270  W.  Have,  M.  Hawe.  —  276  W.  &  M.  juperti,  MS. 
aiup^rti.  —  279  MS.  Pepis.  —  282  MS.  alesing.  —  287  W.  tho, 
M.  thou. 


/xx 

14  SDame  ^irt?    # (c* 

I  shal  mit  j?is  like  gin  f 

Gar  hire  loue  to  ben  al  J?in.  490 

Ne  shal  ich  neuer  haue  reste  ne  ro 

Til  ich  haue  told  hou  J?ou  shalt  do. 

Abid  me  her  til  min  horn-come." 
"  ^  us,  bi  ]?e  somer  blome, 

HeJ?en  nulli  ben  binomen,  •*#•»  *  295 

Til  ]>ou  be  a^ein  comen  " 

Dame  sirij?  bigon  to  go, 

As  a  wreeche  J?at  is  wo, 

pat  hoe  come  hire  to  J?en  inne 

per  J>is  gode  wif  wes  inne.     .  300 

po  hoe  to  )?e  dore  com, 

Swtye  reuliche  hoe  bigori : 
cc  Louerd,"  hoe  seij?,  "  wo  is  holde  wiues, 

pat  in  pouerte  ledej?  ay  Hues  ;    ^  '     ftl{ 

Not  no  mon  so  muchel  of  pine    S10V&  ^305 

As  poure  wif  ]?at  fallej;  in  an  sine.      #S . 

pat  mai  ilke  mon  bi  me  wite  <nc-*-'~ 

For  mai  I  noup>er  gange  ne  site. 

Ded  woldi  ben  ful  fain. 

Houng^r  and  Jmr^t  me  hauej?  nei  slain;      310 

Ich  ne  mai  mine  limes  on-wold, 

For  mikel  hounger  and  Jmrst  and  cold. 

War-to  liueth  selke  a  wreeche  ? 

Wi  nul  goed  mi  soule  fecche  ? " 

291  MS.  nero.  —  293  MS.  horn  come.  —  294  W.  &  M.  bi- 
nomen.  —  310  W.  &  M.  Hounger.  —  311  W.  &  MS.  on  wold. 
—  313  W.  &  M.  War-to.  MS.  a  wreeche. 


15 

"Seli  wif,  god  J?e  hounbinde  !  ifj  315 

To  dai  wille  I  )?e  mete  firide  %^ 

For  loue  of  goed. 
Ich  haue  reuj?e  of  )?i  wo, 
For  euele  I-cloj?ed  I  se  J?e  go, 

And  euele  I-shoed.    /  320 


# 

Com  her-in,  ich  wile  J?e  fede," 
u  Goed  almi^tten  do  }?e  mede, 

And  j?e  louerd  )?at  wes  on  rode  I-don, 

And  faste  fourti  dau£  to  nqn, 
\  Andheuene  and  erj?e  hauej?  to  welde. 

Haue  her  fles  and  eke  bred, 
And  make  )?e  glad,  hit  is  mi  red  ; 
And  haue  her  J?e  coppe  wij?  )?e  dr 
"Goed  do  J;e  mede  for  }?i  swinke." 
i*  ^t    Xpenne  spac  )?at  holde  wif, 

Crist  awarie  hire  lif! 
I  ?"  Alas  !  Alas  !  pat  euer  I  Hue ! 
Al  ]?e  sunne  ich  wolde  forgiue 
pe  mon  J?at  smite  of  min  heued  ! 
/Teh  wolde  mi  lif  me  were  bireued !  " 

319  W.  &  M.  i-clothed,  MS.  I.  closed-  —  3^0  W.  &  M. 
i-shoed,  MS.  I  shoed.  —  321  W.  &  M.  herin.  —  323  W.  &  M. 
loverd,  i-don.  —  326  W.  &  M.  for-jelde.  —  329  W.  &  M.  drinke. 
—  330  W.  &  M.  Goed  mede  the  for.  —  331  W.  &  M.  olde.— 
334  W.  &  M.  for-give.  —  335  W.  &  M.  off.  —  336  W.  &  M. 
bi-reved. 


1 6  Dame 

«  Seli  wif,  what  eille);  J?e  ? " 

u  Bote  ej?e  mai  I-  sori  be : 
Ich  heuede'a  douter  feir  and  fre, 
Feiror  ne  mi^tte  no  mon  se.  34° 

Hoe  heuede  a  curteis  hossebonde ; 
Freour  mon  mi^tte  no  mon  fqnde. 
Mi  dout^r  louede  him  al  to  wel; 

T?  1    '  1    •  -11 

fP  — Por-Jn  maki  son  del.  j.*/v*r 

Oppon  a  dai-  he  was  out  wend, 
And  J?ar-];oru  wes  mi  dout^r  she 
He  hede  on  ernde  out  of  toune  ; 
And  com  a  modi  clarc  wij? 
To  mi  dout^r  his  loue  beed, 
And  hoe  nolde  nout  folewe  his  red.  35° 

He  ne  mi^tte  his  wille  haue, 
A^      .       For  no  J?ing  he  mijtte  craue. 

penne  bigon  j?e  clerc  to  wiche, 

And  shop  mi  dout^r  til  a  biche. 

pis  is  mi  dout*r  )?at  ich  of  speke;  355 

For  del  of  hire  min  herte  breke. 

Loke  hou  hire  heien  greten, 

On  hire  cheken  )?e  teres  meten. 

339  W.  &  M.  douter.   MS.  adout^r.  — 340  W.  &  M.  Feirer. 

—  342  MS.  nomon.  —  343  W.  &  M.  douter.  —  344  W.  &  M. 
For-thi  mak  I.  —  345   MS.  adai,  W.  &  M.  oute.  —  346  Wr  & 
M.  thar-  forn,  douter.  —  348  MS.  amodi.  —  349  W.  &  M. douter. 

—  3  5 2  W.  &  M.  nothing.  —  353  W.  &  M.  bi-gon.  —  3 54  MS. 
abiche.    355  W.  &  M.  douter. 


17 

For  Jn,  dame,  were  hit  no  wowd^r, 
pau  min  herte  burste  assund^r.  360 

A[nd]  wose  euer  is  $ong  houssewif, 
Ha  loue]?  ful  luitel  hire  lif, 
And  eni  clerc  of  loue  hire  bede, 
Bote  hoe  grante  and  lete  him  spede." 
"  A  !  louerd  crist,  wat  rriaLfrenne  do  !     "^11^65 
pis  enderdai  com  a  clarc  me  to, 
And  bed  me  loue  on  his  manere, 
And  ich  him  nolde  nout  I-here. 
Ich  trouue  he  wolle  me  foi^ape 
Hbu  Itroustu,  nelde,  ich  moue  ascap 
God  almi^tten  be  }?in  help 
pat  )?ou  ne  be  nou)?er  bicche  ne  welp  ! 
Leue^dame,  if  eni  clerc 
BedeJ?  );e  )?at  loue-werc, 

Ich  rede  )?at  |?ou  gr^nte  his  bone,  375 

And  bicom  his  lefmon  sone. 
And  if  J?at  J?ou  so  ne  dost, 
A  worse  r,ed  bou  ounderfost." 


Louerd  crist,  J?at  me  is  wo, 
pat  |?e  clarc  me  hede  fro,     PlS.  -^W-        38° 
-5>Ar  he  me  heuade^biwonne.^         ^ 

359  W.  &  M.  For-thi,  wonder.  —  360  W.  &  M.  thah.  — 
361  MS.  A,  W.  &  M.  hever.  —  362  M.  Hoe.  —  363  W.  & 
M.  An.  —  364  W.  &  M.  graunte.  —  365  M.  inserts  *I*  after  mai. 
—  368  W.  &  M.  i-here.  —  369  W.  &  M.  for-sape.  —  370  W.  & 
M.  Nelde.  —  375  W.  &  M.  graunte.  —  376  W.  &  M.  bi-com. 


1  8 


Me  were  leuere  ];en  ani  fe 
That  he  heuede  enes  leien  bi  me, 
And  efft-sones  bigunne. 

M««      ,/  „*«+*  UgS? 

Euer-more,  nelde,  ich  wille  be  J?in,  385 

WiJ?  ]?at  )?ou  feche  me  willekin, 

pe  clarc  of  warn  I  telle, 
Giftes  willi  geue  ]?e 
pat  ]?ou  mai^t  euer  ]?e  betere  be* 

Bi  godes  houne  belle  ! "  .  ^ 


"  So)?liclie,  mi  swete  dame, 
And  if  I  mai  wi]?-houte  blame^, 

Fain  ich  wille  fFondej  e^xTl^ 
And  if  ich  mai  wij?  him  metei,  , 
Bi  eni  wei  o|?er  bi  strete,  &  395 

Nout  ne  willi  wonde.  v**> 

Haue  goddai,  dame  !  for]?  willi  go." 
gAj  v^x     "  Allegate  loke  )?at  J?ou  do  so 

As  ich  ]?e  bad  ; 

Bote  )?at  J?ou  me  wilekin  bringe, 
Ne  mai  neuer  lawe^ne  singe, 

Ne  be  glad." 

384  MS.  efft  sones,  W.   &  M.  bi-gunne.  —  385   W.  &  M.    A~  fi 
Evermore,   Nelde.  —  388  W.   &  M.   give.  —  392  W.   &  M.         " 
withhoute.  —  393  W.  &  M.  fonde.  —  397  W.  &  M.  god  dai.  //j, 
—  401   M.  inserts  *I*  after  mai.  HAJL 


E>ame  ^irij  19 

u  I  wis,  dame,  if  I  mai, 
Ich  wille  bringen  him  $et  to-dai, 

Bi  mine  mi^tte."  405 

Hoe  wente  hire  to  hire  inne, 
Her  hoe  founde  wilekinne, 

Bi  houre  dri^tte !  LO*I> 

"  Swete  wilekin,  be  J?ou  nout  dred, 
&«*~      For  of  }?in  her[n]ae  ich  haue  wel  sped.      410 

Swtye^  com  for  ]?ider  wi)?  me, 

For  hoe  haue)?  send  affter  j?e.    <>fj^r^^ 
'"  I-wis  nou  mai^t  J?ou  ben  aboue,  v:" 

For  ]?ou  hauest  gnmtise  of  hire  loue." 
u  God  )?e  for-^elde,  leue  nelde,  r*& '  415 

pat  heuene  and  erj?e  hauej?  to  welde  !  " 

x^^x)A4rT^"'  u^i^ 

pis  modi  mon  bigon  to  gon 
WiJ?  Sfriz  to  his  leuemon 

In  ]?ilke  stounde. 

Dame  Siriz  bigon  to  telle,  420 

And  swor^bi  godes  ouene  belle, 

Hoe  heuede  him  founde.  'jtfve&r&v 

u  Dame,  so  haue  ich  wilekin  sout, 

For  nou  haue  ich  him  I-brout." 
"Welcome,  wilekin,  swete  )?ing,  4*5 

pou  art  ^welcomore  }?en  ]?e  king. 

403  W.  &  M.  I-wis.  —410  MS.  herde.  —  411  M.  for*th* 
thider.  —  412  W.  &  M.  affter.  —  413  W.  &  M.  I-wis.— 
414  W.  &  M.  graundse.  —415  MS.  for  $elde.  W.  &  M.  Nelde. 
—  424  W.  &  M.  i-brout. 


20  SDame 

Wilekin  j?e  swete,          ^pv^ 
Mi  loue  I  J?e  bihete,  (" 

To  don  al  }?ine  wille. 
Turnd  ich  haue  mi  Jjout,  430 

For  I  ne  wolde  nout 

pat  J?ou  J?e  shuldest  spille."  tefrvi*A  en 


<,    TA  •     l_  I-  U^i* 

"  Dame,  so  ich  euere  bide  noen,          ^^          ^ 
And  ich  am  redi  and  I-boen  ^* 

To  don  al  |?at  )?ou  saie.  435 

Nelde,  par  ma  fai  ! 
pou  most  gange  awai, 

Wile  ich  and  hoe  shulen  plaie." 


"  Goddot  so  I  wille  : 


And  loke  }?at  ]?ou  hire  tille,  440 

And  strek  out  hire  }?es.          'sf/IW/G-w 

God  ^eue  ]?e  muchel  kare, 

^eif  J?at  J?ou  hire  spare, 

pe  wile  bou  mid  hire  bes.  *** 

" 


And  wose  is  onwis, 

And  for  non  pr/V  (^U  / 

Ne  con  geten  his  leuempn, 
I  slal    for  mi 


Garen_him  to  spede,  Yi      I       C     -kL 

For  ful  wel  I  con."          "Z/0*^  3f2 

428  W.  &  M.  bi-hete.  —434  W.  &  M.  i-boen.  -f^44  M. 
here.  —  446  W.  &  M.  pris. 


SDante  ^irij  21 

Appendix  to  Dame  Siriz 

Hie  Incip1  Interludlum  de  clerico  et  puella. 

Clericus  ait, 

u  Damishel,  reste  wel !  "  Clericus 

"  Sir,  welcuw,  by  saynt  michel ! "  Paella 

"  Wer  esty  sire,  wer  esty  dame  ?  "          cimc^y 
u  By  gode,  es  noyer  her  at  hame."  Puella      5 

"Wel  wor  suilc  a  man  to -life  deri™ 

Yat  suilc  a  may  mithe  haue  to  wyfe." 
u  Do  way,  by  cr/st  and  leonard,  Puel/a 

No  wily  lufe  na  clerc  fayllard, 

Na  kepi  herbherg,  clerc,  in  huse,  no  y  flore     10 

Bot  his  hers  ly  wit  uten  dore. 

Go  forth  yi  way,  god  sire, 

ffor  her  hastu  losye  al  yi  wile." 
u  Nu,  nu,  by  cr/st  and  by  sant  ihon ;     Ckrk«* 

In  al  yis  land  ne  wis  hi  none,  15 

Mayden,  yat  hi  luf  mor  yan  ye, 

Hif  me  micht  euer  ye  bether  be. 

ffor  ye  hy  sory  nicht  and  day, 

Y  may  say,  hay  wayleuay  !  " 

Y  luf  ye  mar  yan  mi  lif,  20 

Yu  hates  me  mar  yan  yayt  dos  chnief. 

Yat  es  nouct  for  mys-gilt, 

Certhes,  for  yi  luf  ham  hi  spilt. 

A,  suythe  mayden,  reu  of  me, 

Yat  es  ty  luf  hand  ay  salbe,  25 


22 


fFor  ye  luf  of  y  [e]  mod  [er]  of  efne, 

Yu  mend  yi  mode  and  her  my  steuene  !  " 
"  By  cr/st  of  heu^we  and  sant  ione,  Puell* 

Clerc  of  scole  ne  kepi  non, 

fFor  many  god  wymman  haf  yai  don  scam  —  30 

By  cr/st,  yu  michtis  haf  ben  at  hame  !  " 
"  Synt  it  noyir  gat  may  be,  ciencus 

Ihesu  cr/st  by-te[c]hy  ye, 

And  send  neulic  bot  yar  inwe, 

Yat  yi  be  lesit  of  al  my  pyne."  35 

"  Go  nu,  trwan,  go  nu,  go,  Puell* 

fFor  mikel  yu  cawstu  of  sory  and  wo  !  " 

u  God  te  blis,  mome  helwis  !  "  Cltncus 

"  Son,  welcu/w,  by  san  dinis  !  "  Mome-Elwis 

u  Hie  am  comin  to  ye,  mome,  Clericut  40 

Yu  hel  me  noth,  yu  say  me  sone. 

Hie  am  a  clerc  yat  hauwtes  scole, 

Y  lydy  my  lif  wyt  mikel  dole. 

Me  wor  leu^r  to  be  dedh, 

Yan  led  ye  lif  yat  hyc  ledh  45 

fFor  ay  mayden  with  and  schen, 

fFayrer  ho  lond  hawy  non  syen. 

Yo  hat  mayden  malkyn,  y  wene. 

Nu  yu  wost  quam  y  mene.  /*/*w  *<  m^ 

Yo  wonys  at  the  tounes  ende,  50 

Yat  suyt  lif  so  fayr  and  hende. 

Bot  if  yo  wil  hir  mod  amende, 


SDame  fyiti?  23 

Neuly  crist  my  ded  me  send ! 
Men  send  me  hyder,  vyt-vterc  fayle, 
To  haf  yi  help  anty  cuwsayle;  55 

Yar  for  amy  cummen  here, 
Yat  yu  salt  be  my  herand-bere, 
To  mac  me  and  yat  mayden  sayct, 
And  hi  sal  gef  ye  of  my  nayct, 
So  yat  heu^r  al  yy  lyf  60 

Saltu  be  ye  better  wyf. 
So  help  me  cr/st,  and  hy  may  spede, 
Riche  saltu  haf  yi  mede." 
u  A,  son,  vat  saystu  ?  Benedicite !     Mome  Ellwis 
Lift  hup  yi  hand  and  blis  ye !  65 

ffor  it  es  boyt  syn  and  scam,  *#**£ 
Yat  yu  on  me  hafs  layt  thys  blam. 
ffor  hie  am  anald  quyne  and  a  lam, 
Y  led  my  lyf  wit  godis  loue, 
Wit  my  roc  y  me  fede,  70 

Cani  do  non  oyir  dede, 
Bot  my  pater  noster  and  my  crede, 
To  say  cr/st  for  missedede, 
And  myn  auy  mary  — 

ffor  my  scynnes  hie  am  sory —  75 

And  my  depn?fund/V 
ffor  al  yat  jr  sin  lys; 
ffor  cani  me  non  oyir  yink  — 
Yat  wot  cr/st,  of  hew^ne  kync. 
Ih^su  cr/st  of  hea^ne  hey,  80 


24  20ame 


Gef  yat  hay  may  heng  hey, 

And  gef  yat  hy  may  se, 

Yat  yay  be  heng'  on  a  tre, 

Yat  yis  ley  as  leyit  onne  me. 

ffbr  aly  wymam  ami  on."  85 


attD  3£olf  fn  t^e 

and  of  ]?e  wolf 


vox  gon  out  of  J?e  wode  go, 
Afingret  so,  J?at  him  wes  wo; 
He  nes  neuere  in  none  wise 
Afingret  erour  half  so  swi]?e. 
He  ne  hoeld  nou}?er  wey  ne  strete, 
.       For  him  wes  loj?  men  to  mete  ; 
\'J  ^OK  |^^m  were  leuere  meten  one  hen, 
Adru'l       lpen  na^f  anoundred  wimmen. 
He  strok  swibe  ouer-al, 

it»-»uii»-  •—  —  Y  m  ' 

S°  l7^  ne  ofsei  ane  wal; 
cMtM    WiJ;inne  )?e  walle  wes  on 
k  "       The  wox  wes  J?ider  swij?e 

For  he  )?ohute  his  hounger  aqw^nche, 
Oj?er  mid  mete,  oj;er  mid  drunche. 
Abouten  he  biheld  wel  ^erne  ; 
po  eroust  bigon  }?e  vox  to  erne, 
Al  fort  he  come  to  one  walTeJl 
And  SOIA  J?er-of  wes  afalle, 

W.  =  Wright  and  Halliwell,  Reliquiae  Antiquae  ;  M.  = 
Matzner,  Altenglhche  sprachproben.  In  W.  and  in  H.  throughout 
p  appears  as  th  and  consonantal  u  as  *v. 

8  W.  &  M.  Than  half  an  oundred.  —  9  W.  &  M.  all.  —  1  3  W. 
&  M.  aquenche.  —  1  8  W.  &  M.  therof  wes  a-falle. 


26     Qfyt  $w  ana  flRHolf  in  tfce  Wltll 

And  wes  J>e  wal  ouer-al  to-broke, 
And  on  ^at  J?er  wes  I-loke; 
UA.  <&UAfl-    At  be  furmeste  bruche  bat  he  fond. 

A *.*-*'*'         —. j        — ~ —     ' 

lep  in,  and  ouer  he  wond. 
po  he  wes  inne,  smere  he  lou, 
And  j?er-of  he  hadde  gome  I-nou  ; 
For  he  com  in  wij?-outen  leue 
Bo]?en  of  haiward  and  of  reue. 


On  hous  J?er  wes,  )?e  dore  wes  ope, 
Hennen  weren  J?erinne  I-crope, 

Fiue,  )?at  make)?  anne  flok, 

And  mid  hem  sat  on  kok. 

pe  kok  him  wes  flowen  on  hey, 

And  two  hennen  him  seten  ney. 
"  Wox,"  quod  )?e  kok,  "  wat  dest  ]?ou  J?are  ? 
^Go  horn,  crist  )?e  ^eue  kare ! 

Houre  hennen  J?ou  dest  ofte  shome." 
u  Be  stille,  ich  hote,  a  godes  nome !  " 

Qua)?  J?e  wox,  "  sire  chauntecler, 

pou  fle  adoun,  and  com  me  ner. 

I  nabbe  don  her  nout  bote  goed, 

I  have  leten  J>ine  hennen  blod ; 

Hy  weren  seke  ounder  )?e  ribe, 

pat  hy  ne  mi^tte  non  lengour  libcj 


35 


19  MS.  to  breke.  —  20  W.  &  M.   i-loke.  —  24  W.  &  M. 
i-nou.  —  28  W.  &  M.  i-crope,  MS.  I  crope.  —  36  MS.  agodes. 


Wolf  m  fyt  WglL    27 


Bote  here  heddca  were  I-take  ; 
I-    pat  I  do  for  almes  sake. 

Ich  haue  hem  letten  eddre  blod,  45 

And  ]?e,  chauntecler,  hit  wolde  don  goed. 
a    i        pou  hauest  ]?at  ilke  ounder  )?e  splen, 
Pou  n^stes^neuere  dales  ten  ; 
For  Jrine  lif-dayes  bej?  al  ago, 
Bote  |?ou  bi  mine  rede  do  ;  50 


<&>?!  do  J>c  lete  bVcfd  ounder    eest, 

O)?er  sone  axe  after  j?e  presf. 
tc  Go  wei,"  quod  )?e  kok,  u  wo  ]?e  bi-go  ! 
pou  hauest  don  oure  kunne  wo. 
Go  mid  |?an  |?at  )?ou  hauest  nou}?e  ;  55 

Acoursed  be  )?ou  of  godes  mou]7e  !  f 
For  were  I  adoun  bi  godes  nome  !  ,  , 

Ich  mijte  ben  siker  of  o}?re  shome 
Ac  w^te  hit  houre  cellerer, 
pat  J?ou  were  I-comen  her.  60 

He  wolde  sone  after  J;e  $onge, 
Mid  pikes  and  stones  and  staues  stronge  ; 
Alle  J?ine  bones  he  wolde  to-breke; 
pene  we  weren  wel  awreke." 


H 


E  wes  stille,  ne  spak  namore,  65 

Ac  he  wcrb  a)?urst  wel  sore  ; 
~ 


. 

43  W.  &  M.  i-take,  MS.  I  take.  —  49  W.  &  M.  a^go.  —  58 
W.  &  M.  owre.  —  59  M.  wiste.  —  60  W.  &  M.  i-comen,  MS. 
I  comen.  —  63  MS.  to  brekc, 


28     Wyt  5Fop  ana  WMf  in  tlje  Wltll 

pe  }?urst  him  dede  more  wo, 
pen  heuede  raj^er  his  hounger  do. 
Ouer-al  he  ede  and  sojiyte  ; 
On  auenture  his  wiit  him  brohute, 
To  one  putte  wes  water  inne      jj 
pat  wes  I-maked  mid  grete  ginne., 
Tuo  boketes  |?er  he  founde,  fi^    Ounb 

pat  oj;er  wende  to  );e  grounde,  1 

pat  wen  me  shulde  };at  on  opwinde,  75 

pat  o]?er  wolde  adoun  winde. 
f  He  ne  hounderstod  nout  of  J?e  ginne, 
He  nom  ]?at  boket,  and  lep  J;erinne  ; 
ne  h°ede  I-nou  to  drinke. 


is  boket  biginne}?  to  sinke;  80 

To  late  J?e  vox  wes  bij?out, 
po  he  wes  in  J;e  ginne  I-brout. 
I-nou  he  gon  him  bi-J;enche,  / 

Ac  hit  ne  halp  mid  none  wrenchc  -d^ncz. 
Adoun  he  moste,  he  wes  }?erinne  ;  85 

I-kaut  he  wes  mid  swikele  ginne. 
Hit  mi^te  han  iben  wel  his  wille  , 
To  lete  )?at  boket  hongi  stille.  f 
serewe  and  mid  drede, 


72  W.  &  M.  i-maked,  MS.  I  maked.  —  75  W.  &  M.  op- 
winde, M.  omits  on.  —  76  W.  &  M.  a-doun.  —  79  W.  &  M. 
i-nou,  MS.  Inou.  —  80  W.  &  M.  beginneth.  —  81  W.  &  M. 
bi-pout.  —  8a  W.  &  M.  i-brout,  MS.  I  brout.  —  83  MS.  bi 
penche.  —  85  W.  &  M.  A-doun.  —86  W.  &  M.  i-kaut.  — 
87  W.  &  M.  i-ben,  MS.  hani  ben, 


3H)e  JFo?  anD  fflttolf  in  tlje  Witil     29 


Al  his  jmrst  him  ouer-hede. 
Al  J?us  he  com  to  j?e  grounde, 

And  water  I-nou  ]?er  he  founde.  /    '     J 

po  he  fond  water,  ^erne  he  dronk,        ~* 
Him  ]?oute  J?at  water  ]?ere  stonk, 
For(hit  wes  to-^eines  his  wille. 
u.  Wo  wtfrj?e,"  t\ua\  )?e  vox,  "  lust  and  wille> 

ne  can  me];  to  his  mete  ! 
^ef  ich  neuede  to  muchel  I-ete, 
pis  ilke  shome  neddi  nou]?e; 
Nedde  lust  I-ben  of  mine  mou]?e.  100 

Him  is  wo  in  euche  londe, 
pat  is  ]?ef  mid  his  honde. 
Ich  am  I-kaut  mid  swikele  ginne,         , 
O}?er  soum  deuel  me  broute  her-inne.  ^ 
I  was  woned  to  ben  wiis,  .  ,  105 

Ac  nou  of  jne  I-don  hit 


PE  vox  wep,  and  reuliche  bigan. 
per  com  a  wolf  gon  after  j?an 
Out  of  J?e  depe  wode  bliue, 
For  he  wes  afingret  swij?e.  no 

Noting  he  ne  founde  in  al  J?e  ni^te, 
Wer-mide  his  honger  aquewche  mi^tte. 

90  W.  &  M.  over-hede,  MS.  ouer  hede.  —  91  W.  &  M.  come. 
—  92  W.  &  M.  i-nou. — 95  MS.  to  ^eines. — 96  W.  &  M. 
quath.  —  97  M.  con.  — 98  W.  &  M.  i-ete,  MS.  I  etc.  — 100 
W.  &  M.  i-ben,  MS.  I  ben.  —  103  W.  &  M.  i-kaut,  MS.  I  kaut. 
-  106  W.  &  M.  i-don,  MS.  I  don.  — 112  W.,  MS.  Wer  mide, 
W.  &  M.  aquenche,  M.  Wer-mid  e. 


30     &ty  3F0F  ana  OTolf  in  tlje  WLtll 

He  com  to  J?e  putte,  }?ene  vox  I-herde ; 

He  him  kneu  wel  bi  his  rerde, 

For  hit  wes  his  nei^ebore, 

And  his  gossi^ctf  children  bore. 

A-doun  bi  J?e  putte  he  sat. 

Quod  J?e  wolf,  "Wat  may  ben  J?at 

pat  ich  in  J?e  putte  I-here  ? 
^sHertou  cristine,  oj?er  mi  fere  ? 
jBay  me  so}?,  ne  gabbe  }?ou  me  nout, 

Wo  hauej?  J?e  in  )?e  putte,  I-brout  ?  " 

pe  vox  hine  I-kneu  wel  for  his  kiin,  - 
/And  J?o  eroust  kom  wiit  to  him ; 
^For  he  J?oute  mid  soumme  ginne,  12 

Him-self  houpbringe,  ]?ene  wolf  }?erinne. 

Quod  }?e  vox,  "  Wo  is  nou  }?ere  ? 

Ich  wene  hit  is  sigr/m  J?at  ich  here." 
"  pat  is  so}?,"  )?e  wolf  sede, 
u  Ac  wat  art  ]?ou,  so  god  J?e  rede  ?  "  '3 

7    quod  J?e  vox,  "  ich  wille  }?e  telle ; 
~  On  alpj_  word  ich  lie  nelle. 
Ich  am  reneuard,  ]>i  frend, 
And  ^if  ich  J?ine  come  heuede  I-wend, 
Ich  hedde  so  I-bede  for  }?e,  ,3 

pat  }?ou  sholdest  comen  to  me." 

113  W.  &  M.  i-herde.  —  1 14  W.  &  M.  by.  —  1 1 8  M.  What. 
—  119  W.  &  M.  i-here.  —  122  W.  &  M.  i-brout.  —  123  W. 
&  M.  i-kneu,  MS.  I  kneu.  —  128  W.  &  M.  Sigrim.  —  134  W. 
&  M.  i-wend. —  135  W.  &  M.  i-bade. 


anti  Molf  in  ttyt  Well     31 

"  Mid  ]?e  ? "  quod  }?e  wolf,  "  War  to  ? 
Wat  shulde  ich  ine  }?e  putte  do  ? " 
Quod  }?e  vox,  u  pou  art  ounwiis,  - 
Her  is  ]?e  blisse  of  paradiis ;  140 

Her  ich  mai  euere  wel  fare, 
WiJ?-outen  pine,  wi]?outen  kare;    I 
Her  is  mete,  her  is  drinke, 
Her  is  blisse  wi]?outen  swinke ; 
Her  nis  hounger  neuermo,  145 

Ne  non  o]?er  kunnes  wo ; 
Of  alle  gode  her  is  I-nou." 
Mid  ]>ilke  wordes  J?e  volf  lou. 

"    /%    rt  )?ou  ded,  so  god  ]?e  rede, 

jLJL  O]?er  of  ]?e  worlde?"  )?e  wolf  sede.    I50 
Quod  J?e  wolf,  "  Wenne  storue  }?ou, 
And  wat  dest  ]?ou  )?ere  nou  ? 
Ne  be]?  nout  }et  J?re  daies  ago, 
pat  ]?ou  and  ]?i  wif  also, 

And  ]?ine  children,  smale  and  grete,  I55 

Alle  to-gedere  mid  me  hete." 

"  pat  is  so]?,"  quod  ]?e  vox, 

"  Gode  ]?onk,  nou  hit  is  ]?us, 
pat  ihc  am  to  criste  vend.  I 
Not  hit  non  of  mine  frend."  !60 

I  nolde,  for  al  ]?e  worldes  goed,          \  ^^g^lQiA' 
Ben  ine  be  worlde,  ber  ich  hem  fond.  V^^Vv) 

/WHI/I*I^'  ^ 

137  W.  &  M.  war-to.  —  147  W.  &  M.  i-nou.  —  153  W.  &     I 
M.  a-go. 


32     W$t  5Fop  ana  UKoif  in  tlje  Well 

Wat  shuldich  ine  J?e  worlde  go, 

per  nis  bote  kare  and  wo, 

And  liuie  in  fulj?e  and  in  sunne  ?  165 

Ac  her  be)?  ioies  fele  cunne  ;     ,   ^  _^  /J^ 

Her  be)?  bo)?e  shep  and  ^"ctW^ 

pe  wolf  haue)?  hounger  swipe  gret, 

For  he  nedde  }are  I-ete  ; 

And  J?o  he  herde  speken  of  mete,  170 

He  wolde  blepeliche  ben  J?are.       J 
"  A  !  "  quod  )?e  wolf,  "  gode  I-fere, 

Moni  goed  mel  J?ou  hauest  me  binon 

Let  me  adoun  to  J?e  kome. 

And  al  ich  wole  j?e  for-^eue."  175 

u  ^e,"  quod  j?e  vox,  "  were  J?ou  I-sriue, 

And  sunnen  heuedest  al  forsake, 

And  to  klene  lif  I-take, 

Ich  wolde  so  bidde  for  J?e, 

pat  )?ou  sholdest  comen  to  me."  180 


^  I  ^O  worn  shuldich,"  J?e  wolfe  seide, 
i^7"          J.    Beji^knowe  of  mine  misdede  ? 
Her  nis  noting  aliue, 
pat  me  kou)?e  her  nou  sriue. 

156  MS.  to  gedere.  —  166  W.  &  M.  joies.  —  169  W.  &  M. 
i-ete,  MS.  I  etc.  —  171  W.  &  M.  i-fere,  MS.  I  fere.—  174  W. 
&  M.  a-doun.  —  175  MS.  for  ^eue.  —  176  W.  &  M.  i-srive, 
MS.  I  sriue.  —  178  W.  &  M.  i  take,  MS.  I  take.  —  182  W.  & 
M.  i-knowe,  MS.  I  knowe. 


tEije  jfop  ana  OTtolf  in  tlje  Well     33 

pou  hauest  ben  ofte  min  I-fere,  185 

Woltou  nou  mi  srift  I-here, 

And  al  mi  liif  I  shal  pe  telle  ?  " 

Nay,"  quod  pe  vox,  «  I  nelle." 

Neltou,"  quod  pe  wolf,  "Jgn  ore, 

Ich  am  afingret  swipe  sore-p 

Ich  wot  to  nijt  ich  wor]?e  ded, 

Bote  pou  do  me  somne  reed.  wA 

For  cristes  loUe  be  mi  prest."         /uJ^  *  ^ 

Pe  wolf  be^Ladoun  his  brest, 

^nc^  Son  to  si^en  harde  and  stronge.  195 

Woltou,"  quod  J?e  vox, "  srift  ounderfowge, 

Tel  pine  sunnen  on  and  on, 

pat  per  bileue  neuer  on." 

"Qone,"  quod  pe  wolf,  «  wel  l 

O    Ich  habbe  ben  qued  al  mi  lifdaie ; 
Ich  habbe  wide^ne  kors,  ^S. 
perfore  ich  fare  pe  wors. 
A  pousent  shep  ich  habbe  abiten, 
And  mo,  ^ef  hy  weren  1-writen. 
Ac  hit  me  of-pinkep  sore.  205 

Maister,  shal  I  tellen  more  ?  " 

185  W.  &  M.  i-fere,  MS.  I  fere.  —  186  W.  &  M.  i-here, 
WS.  I  here.  —  191  W.  &  M.  to-nijt.  — 194  W.  &  H.  a-doun. 
—  196  W.  &  M.  ounderfonge.  —  199  W.  &M.  quad,  MS.  I  fare, 
W.  &  M.  i-faie.  —  200  W.  &  M.  lif-daie.  —  204  W.  &  M. 
i-writen,  MS.  I  writen.  — 205  MS.  of  J?inkeJ>. 


34     tER&e  JFoF  ana  OTolf  in  ti)t  Meli 


]?e  vox,  u  al  J?ou  most  suggeJ 
"  Gossip,"  quod  J?e  wolf,  cc  foqef  hit  me, 


Oj>er  elles-wer  )?ou  most  abugge." 


Ich  habbe  ofte  sehid  qued  bi  )?e, 

Men  seide  J?at  ]?ou  on  ]?ine  Hue 

Misferdest  mid  mine  wiue  ; 

Ich  )?e  ap^rseiuede  one  stounde, 
jAnd  in  bedde  togedere  ou  founde. 
I  Ich  wes  ofte  ou  ful  ney,  215 

I  And  in  bedde  to-gedere  ou  sey. 
5  Ich  wende,  al-so  o)?re  do)?, 
|  pat  ich  I-seie  were  soj>, 

And  J?erfore  ]?ou  were  me  loj;  ; 

Gode  gossip,  ne  be  j?ou  nohut  wroj?."         aao 


T-T 
V 


,"  quod  J>e  vox  him  )?o, 
Al  )?at  J;ou  hauest  her  bifore  I-do, 

In  ]>ohut,  in  speche,  and  in  dede, 

In  euche  oj?eres  kunnes  quede, 

Ich  ]?e  forjeue  at  ]?isse  nede."  225 

"  Crist  )?e  foqelde  !  "  J?e  wolf  seide. 
"  Nou  ich  am  in  clene  liue, 

Ne  recche  ich  of  childe  ne  of  wiue. 

Ac  sei  me  wat  I  shal  do, 

And  ou  ich  may  comen  J?e  to."  230 

207  W.  &  M.  quad.  —  208  MS.  elles  wer.  —  213  W.  &  M. 
aperseivede.  —  214  W.  &  M.  to-gedere.  —  216  MS.  to  gedere  ou 
ley,  M.  sey.  —  218  W.  &  M.  i-sele,  MS.  I  seie.  —  221  W.  & 
M.  quad.  —  222  W.  &  M.  i-do,  MS.  I  do. 


Wyt  JFop  anO  ®Kolf  in  ti)t  Witll     35 

u  Do  ?  "  quod  ]?e  vox.    "  Ich  wille  J?e  lere. 

I-siist  }?ou  a  boket  hongi  J;ere  ? 

pere  is  a  bruche  of  heuene  blisse, 

Lep  J?erinne,  mid  I-wisse, 

And  J?ou  shalt  comen  to  me  sone."  235 

Quod  the  wolf,  "  }?at  is  li^t  to  done." 

He  lep  in,  and  way  sumdel ; 

pat  weste  J?e  vox  ful  wel. 

pe  wolf  gon  sinke,  J?e  vox  arise ; 

po  gon  J?e  wolf  sore  agr/se.  24° 

po  he  com  amidde  j?e  putte, 

pe  wolfe  ]?ene  vox  opward  mette. 
"  Gossip,"  quod  }?e  wolf,  u  Wat  nou  ? 

Wat  hauest  j?ou  I-munt  ?  weder  wolt  J?ou  ? " 
u  Wedeij^Ich  wille($"  )?e  vox  sede. 
"  Ich  wille  oup,  so  god  noe  redej 

And  nou  go  doun,  wij?  )?i  meel, 

pi  bi^ete  wor|?  wel  smal. 

Ac  ich  am  J;erof  glad  and  bli}?e, 

pat  ]?ou  art  nomen  in  clene  Hue.  •  250 

pi  soule-cnul  ich  wille  3o  ririge, 

And  masse  for  J?ine  soule  singe." 

pe  wrecche  bine]?e  noting  ne  vind, 

Bote  cold  water,  and  hounger  him  bind ; 

To  colde  gistninge  he  wes  I-bede,  255 

Wroggen  hauej?  his  dou  I-knede. 

232  MS.   I  siist.  —  234  W.  &  M.  i-wisse,  MS.  I  wisse.  — 
240  W.  &  M.  agrise.  —  244  W.  &  M.  i-munt,  MS.  I  munt. 

—  251  W.  &  M.  soul-cnul.  —  255  W.  &  M.  i-bede,  MS.  I  bede. 

—  256  W.  &  M.  i-knede,  MS.  I  knede. 


36     Wyt  jfojt:  ana  Wolf  in  tlje 

e  wolf  in  J?e  putte  stod, 
Afingret  so  ]?at  he  ves  wod. 
Inou  he  cursede  ]?at  )?ider  him  broute  ; 

pe  put  him  wes  J?e  house  ney, 

per  freren  woneden  swij?e  sley. 

po  J?at  hit  com  to  J?e  time, 

pat  hoe  shulden  arisen  Ine,, 

For  to  suggen  here  houssorig, 

O  frere  ]?ere  wes  among, 

Of  here  slep  hem  shulde  awecche, 

Wen  hoe  shulden  J?idere  recche. 

He  seide,  "  Arise]?  on  and  on, 

And  kome}?  to  houssong  heuereuchon." 

pis  ilke  frere  heyte  ailmer ; 

He  wes  hoere  maister  curtiler. 

He  wes  hofyurst  swij>e  stronge ; 

Ri^t  amidward  here  houssonge 

Al-hone  to  ]?e  putte  he  hede; 

For  he  wende  bete  his  nede. 

He  com  to  ]?etputte,  and  drou, 

And  ]?e  wolf  wes  heui  I-nou. 

pe  frere  mid  al  his  maine  tey 

So  longe  ]?at  he  J?ene  wolf  I-sey  ! 

For  he  sei  J?ene  wolf  ]?er  sitte, 

He  gradde,  "  pe  deuel  is  in  J?e  putte !  " 

259  MS.  I  nou. —  264  W.  &  M.  ime.  —  270  M.  hevere  uchon. 
—  275  W.  &  M.  Alhone,  MS.  Al  hone.  —  278  W.  &  M.  i-nou, 
MS.  I  nou.—  280  W.  &  M.  i-sey,  MS.  I  sey. 


27* 


age 


3tf)e  jfop  ana  Wolf  in  tfce  Well     37 

To  J?e  putte  hy  gounnen  gon, 
Alle  mid  pikes  and  staues  and  ston, 
Euch  mon  mid  J?at  he  hedde ;  285 

Wo  wes  him  J?at  wepne  nedde. 
Hy  comen  to  J?e  putt^  bene  wolf  opdrowe ; 
po  hede  J;e  wreche  fomefi  I-nowe, 
pat  weren  egre  him  to  slete^    ^CUA  ^OM^^A^ 
Mid  grete  houndes,  and  to  bete.  190 

Wei  and  wro]?e  he  wes  I-swonge, 
Mid  staues  and  speres  he  wes  I-stouwge. 
pe  wox  bicharde  him,  mid  Iwisse, 
For  he  ne  fond  nones  kunnes  blisse, 
Ne  hof  duntes  for^euenesse.  explicit.  295 

287  W.  &  M.  op-drowe.  —  288  W.  &  M.  i-nowe,  MS.  I  nowe. 
—  291  W.  &  M.  i-swonge,  MS.  I  swonge. —  292  W.  &  M. 
i-stounge,  MS.  I  sto«ngc.  —  293  W.  &  M.  i-wisse,  MS.  I  wisse. 


[L]  ystyns,  lordyng^,  and  }e  schall  here    Ashmole 
Off  ansytowrres,  \a\.  be-fore  vs  were,        MS'  6l' 

Bothe  herdy  and  wyght, 
Yn  tyme  of  vter  and  pewdragonn, 
Kyng  artowr  fad^r  of  grete  renou«e,  5 

A  sembly  man  of  syght. 
He  had  a  kny^ht,  hy^t  sir  clegys ; 
A  dou^tyer  man  was  now  at  nedys 

Of  J;e  ronde-tabull  ry^ht. 

He  was  man  of  hy  statour  1 

And  tyer-to  feyre  of  all  fetowr, 

A  man  of  mekyll  my^ht. 

Mour  curtas  kny^ht  J?aw  he  was  one 
Yn  all  f?/s  werld  was  \er  non. 

He  was  so  gentyll  and  fre, 
To  squyres  ]>at  tr<7ueyled  in  lond  of  werre 
And  wer  fallyn  in  pou^rte,  bare, 

He  gaff  J?e;7/  gold  and  fe. 
Hys  tenants  feyr  he  wold  rehete; 
No  man  he  wold  buske_  ne  bete ; 

Meke  as  meyd  was  he. 
Hys  mete  was  redy  to  eu^ry  man 
That  wold  com  and  vyset  hyw  than ; 

He  was  full  of  plente.. 


g>tr  Cleges  39 

The  knyght  had  a  gentyll  wyffr,  25 

A  better  my^ht  now  be  of  lyfe, 

Ne  non  semblyer  in  syght. 
Dame  clarys  hyght  fyat  lady ; 
OfF  all  godnes  sche  had  treuly 

Glad  chere  boj;e  dey  and  ny^ht.  30 

Crete  almaj-folke  boj?e  J^i  were 
Both  to  pore  man  and  to  frere ; 

They  cheryd  many  a  wy^ht. 
ffor  ]>em  had  no  man  ou^ht  lore 
Whe^r  \e\  wer  ryche  or  pore,  35 

Of  hym  ]>ei  schuld  haue  ry^ht. 

Euery  $ere  sir  clegys  wold 
In  crystyn-mes  a  fest  hold 

Yn  ]?e  worschype  of  ]>at  dey, 
[As  Ryall  in  all  thynge  40 

As  he  hade  ben  A  kynge, 

For-soth  as  I  you  saye.] 
Ryche  and  pore  in  \a\.  centre 
At  ]>at  fest  \e\  schuld  be ; 

Ther  wold  no  man  sey  nay.       ?  45 

Mynstrellus  wold  not  be  be-hynd, 
Myrthys  wer  \e\  may  fFynd, 

That  is  most  to  ]>er  pay. 

Mynstrellz/j  when  ]?e  fest  was  don,     f 
Schuld  not  wit^-outyn  gyft^j  gon 
That  wer  both  rych  and  gode, 

Verses  40-42  are  supplied  from  the  Edinburgh  MS. 


40  §>ir  Cieges 

Hors  and  robys  and  rych  thyng^j, 
Gold  and  sylu^r  and  ofyer  thyng^j, 

To  mend  with  \er  mode 

X  $ere  our  xii  sych  fester  \e\  held  55 

Yn  worschype  of  hy#z,  Ipat  all  weld 

And  for  vs  dy^ed  vpon  ]?e  rode. 
Be  than  his  gode  be-gan  to  schake, 
Sych  fester  he  gan  make, 

The  knyght  of  jentyll  blode.  60 

To  hold  hys  feste  he  wold  not  lete; 
Hys  rych  manors  to  wede  he  sete : 

He  thou^t  hyw-selue  oute  to  quyte. 
Thus  he  festyd  many  a  $ere 
Both  gentyll  men  and  comener  ) 

Yn  }?e  name  of  god  all-my^ht. 
So  at  J?e  last,  soth  to  sey, 
All  hys  gode  was  spendyd  a-way ; 

Than  he  had  bot  a  lyte. 

Thoff  hys  god  were  ne-hond  leste,  70 

Yn  j?e  wyrschyp  he  made  a  feste ; 

He  hopyd  god  wold  hy/fl  quyte. 

ryalty  he  ford^ryd  ay, 
To  hys  manors  wer  sold  a-wey, 

That  hym  was  left  bot  one;  75 

And  Ipat  was  of  lytell  valew, 
That  he  and  hys  wyfe  so  trew 

Oneth  my^ht  lyfe  Jw-one. 


&ir  Cleges  41 

Hys  men,  \a\.  wer  so  mych  of  pr/de, 

Wente  a-wey  o«ne  eu^ry  syde ;  80 

With  hym  \er  left  not  one. 
To  duell  with  hym  \er  left  no  mo 
Bot  hys  wyfe  and  his  chyld^r  two  ; 

Than  made  he  mekyll  mone. 

Yt  fell  on  a  crystewmes  cue;  85 

Syr  clegys  and  his  wyfe, 

They  duellyd  by  cardyff  syde. 
When  it  drew  to-werd  J?e  none, 
Syr  clegys  fell  in  swownywg  sone ; 

Wo  be-thought  hym  ]>at  tyde,  9° 

What  myrth  he  was  wonte  to  hold, 
And  he,  he  had  hys  manors  solde, 

Tenandrys  and  landes  wyde. 
Mekyll  sorow  made  he  ]>er; 
He  wrong  hys  hond^r  and  wepyd  sore,          95 

ffor  fallyd  was  hys  pr/de. 

And  as  he  walkyd  vppe  and  done, 
Sore  sy^eng,  he  herd  a  sowne 

Off  dyu^rse  my«stralsy,     pJiau|*/v'1 
Off  truwpers,  pypers,  and  nakerner^  100 

Off  herp^rs,  notys  and  gytherners. 

Off  sytall  and  of  sautrey. 
Many  carrals  and  grete  dansyng 
Yn  eu^ry  syde  herd  he  syng, 

In  eu^ry  place,  treuly.  105 


42  £>tr  Clegea 

He  wrong  hys  hondes  and  wepyd  sore ; 
Mekyll  mon  he  made  \er, 
Sy^eng  full  pytewysly. 

/      x 
u  A  Ih^u,  heuerc-kyng, 

Off  nought  Ipou  madyst  all  thyng ; 

Y  thanke  )>e  of  thy  sonde. 
The  myrth  \a\.  I  was  won  to  make 
Yn  J?/s  tyme  for  J?/  sake. 

Y  fede  both  fre  and  bond, 
And  all  Ipat  euer  com  in  )?/  name, 
They  wantyd  no]>er  wylde  ne  tame, 

That  was  in  any  lond, 
Off  rych  metys  and  drynk^j-  gode 
That  longes  for  any  man^j  fode, 

Off  cost  I  wold  not  wonde." 

Als  he  stode  in  mournyng  so, 
And  hys  wyfe  com  hym  to, 

Yn  armys  sche  hym  hente. 
Sche  kyssed  hym  with  glad  chere, 
And  seyd :  "  My  trew  wedyd  fere, 

Y  herd  wele  what  }e  ment. 
^e  se  wele,  s/r,  it  helpys  nought, 
To  take  sorow  in  jour  thought; 

Ther-for  I  rede  $e  stynte. 
[Let  yourc  sorowe  A-waye  gon 
And  thanke  God  of  hys  lone 

Of  all  \a\.  he  hath  sent.] 


ir  Cleges  43 

Be  crystes  sake,  I  rede  $e  lyne 
Of  all  \e  sorow  J?#t  }e  be  Ine 

A-^ene  J?/s  holy  dey.  i35 

Now  eu^ry  man  schuld  be  mery  and  glad 
With  sych  god^  as  J?^i  had; 

Be  }e  so,  I  }ou  pray. 
Go  we  to  ouer  mete  be-lyue 
And  make  vs  both  m^rry  and  blythe,  H° 

his  wele  as  eu^r  we  may. 
I  hold  it  for  J?e  best,  trewly ; 
Y  haue  made  owre  mete  treuly, 

Y  hope,  vnto  $our  pay." 

a  Now  I  assent,"  q«0J?  cleg^j  tho.  '45 

Yn  with  hyr  he  gan  go 

Som-what  with  better  chere. 
When  he  fell  in  thou^t  and  care,    ' 
Sche  comforth  hym  euer  mo«r, 

Hys  sorow  for-to  stere.  150 

After  he  gan  to  wex  blytljfe) 
And  wyped  hys  terys  blyue, 

That  hang  on  hys  lyre. 
Than  ]>e'i  wesch  and  went  to  mete, 
With  sych  god  as  \e\  my^ht  gete,  J55 

And  made  m^ry  chere. 


Verses  130-132  are  supplied  from  the  Edinburgh  MS. 
145  MS.  the. 


44  &tr  Clegea 

When  \e\  had  etc,  J?e  soth  to  sey, 

With  myrth  ]>ei  drofe  }?e  dey  a-wey, 

The  best  wey  ]>at  they  my^ht. 

With  Iper  chyld^r  pley  ]>ei  dyde  160 

And  after  euensong  went  to  bede 

At  serteyn  of  ]?e  nyght.  ^ 

The  sclepyd,  to  it  rong  at  J>e  chyrcheA  Stf^**^ 
God^r  s^ruys  forto  wyrche,  O 

As  it  was  sky  11  and  ryght.  165 

Vp  \e\  ros  and  went  ]?e}^r, 
They  and  \er  chyld^r  toge)?/?r, 

When  \e\  were  redy  dy^ht. 

Syr  cleg^r  knelyd  on  hys  kne, 

3  Ih[es]u  cryst  pr^yd  he  170 

Bechegyn  of  hys  wyfe  : 
u  Grasyos  lord,"  he  seyd  tho, 
u  My  wyfe  and  my  chyld^r  two, 

Kepe  vs  out  of  stryffe." 
The  lady  pr^yd  hym  ageyn ; 
Sche  seyd :  u  god  kepe  my  lord  fro  peyn 

Yn-to  eu^r-lastyng  lyffe."  175 

Seruys  was  don  and  horn  ]^y  wente ; 
The  thankyd  god  omnipotent 

They  went  home  so  ryfe. 

When  he  to  hys  palys  com,  X8o 

He  thou^t  his  sorow  was  ou^r-gon ; 


Cleges  45 

Hys  sorow  he  gan  stynt. 
He  made  hys  wyfe  be-for  hym  gon 
And  hy  [s]  chylcUr  eu^rychon  ; 

Hyw-selue  a-lone  he  wente 
Yn-to  a  garthyn  \er  be-syde.  185 

He  knelyd  a-don  in  J?#t  tyde 

And  prayd  to  god  v^rament. 
He  thankyd  god  with  all  hys  hert 
Of  all  desesyd  in  pou^rte 

That  euer  to  hym  he  sente.  190 

Si*  c*  — 


As  he  knelyd  onne  hys  kne 
Vnd^r-neth  a  chery  tre, 

Makying  hys  praere, 

He  raw^ht  a  bow^e  in  hys  hond,  195 

To  ryse  Iper-by  and  vp-stond  ; 

No  leng^-r  knelyd  he  ]>er. 
When  )?e  bow^he  was  in  hys  hond, 
Grengleuys  Iper-on  he  fond 

And  ronde  beryes  in  fere.  200 

He  seyd  :   <c  Dere  god  in  tr/nyte, 
What  man^r  beryes  may  J?/s  be, 

That  grow  ]?/s  tyme  of  ^ere  ?  " 


"  Y  haue  not  se  J?/s  tyme  of 
That  treys  any  fruyt  schuld  bere,  205 

Als  ferre  as  I  haue  sought." 
He  thou3t  to  tayst  it,  yff  he  couthe  ; 


46 


One  of  ]>em  he  put  in  hys  mouthe ; 

Spare  wold  he  nought.  toJi     ai° 

AfV^a  chery  it  relesyd  clene,  <n^/**^^ 
Tnebest  ]>at  euer  he  had  sene, 

Seth  he  was  man  wrought. 
A  lytell  bow  he  gan  of-slyfe ; 
And  thought  he  wold  schew  it  hys  wyfe ;  215 

Yn  hys  hond  he  it  brought. 

"  Lo,  dame,  here  is  a  nowylte ; 
In  ou^r  garthyn  vpon  a  tre 

Y  found  it,  sykerly.  220 

Y  ame  a-ferd,  it  is  tokenywg 
Be-cause  of  ou^r  grete  pleny«g, 
That  moar  greuans  is  ny." 
His  wyfe  seyd :  "  It  is  tokenywg 
Off  mour  godnes  \a\.  is  comywg ;  >n,$ 

We  shall  haue  mour  plente. 
Haue  we  les  our  haue  we  mo«r, 
All-wey  thanke  we  god  ]?^r-fore; 
Yt  is  J?e  best  treulye." 

The  lady  seyd  with  gode  cher:  230 

"  Late  vs  fyll  a  panyer 

Off  J?e  frute  ]>at  god  hath  sente. 
To-morow,  when  ]?e  dey  do  spryng, 
^e  schall  to  cardyff  to  J?e  kyng, 

fFull  feyre  hym  to  pr^jente. 


*&ir  Cleges  47 

Sych  a  gyft  $e  may  hafe  J?<?r,  235 

That  a  [11]  we  schall  ye  beter  fare; 

I  tell  3011,  veramewt." 
Sir  clegys  grantyd  sone  ]>er-to  : 
To-morow  to  cardyff  I  wyll  go 

After  pur  entent."  140 

The  morne,  when  it  was  dey-lyght, 
The  lady  had  j;e  pawnyer  dyght  ; 
To  hyr  eldyst  son  seyd  sche  : 
Take  vp  JMS  pawnyer  gladly 
And  here  it  at  thy  bake  esyly  *45 

After  J?i  fad^r  so  fre." 
Syr  clegys  J?aw  a  staff  he  toke  ; 
He  had  no  hors,  so  seyth  J?e  boke, 
To  ryde  hys  jorneye, 
sted  ne 


(V 


Bot  a  staff  was  his  hakney, 
As  man^r  in  pou^rte. 

Syr  cleges  and  hys  son  gent 
The  ryght  wey  to  cardyfe  went 

On  cryste^mes  dey.  255 

To  J?e  castell-^ate  \e\  com  full  ry^ht, 
As  \e\  wer  to  mete  dyght, 

At  none,  J?e  soth  to  sey. 
As  sir  cleges  wold  in  go, 
Yn  pore  clothyng  was  he  tho,  260 

In 


48 


The  porter  seyd  full  spytously  : 
u  Thow  schall  w/t/>-draw  J?e  smertly, 
Y  rede,  w/t^-oute  deley. 

Els,  be  god  and  seynt  mary,  265 

Y  schall  breke  }n  hede  smertly, 

To  stond  in  begers  route. 
Yff  J?0u  draw  any  mour  in-werd, 
Thow  schall  rew  it  aftmverd; 

Y  schall  J?e  so  cloute."  270 

"  Gode  s/>,"  seyd  sir  cleges  tho, 
"  Y  pray  }ou,  late  me  in  go  ; 

Thys  is  w/t^-outen  doute. 
The  kyng  I  haue  a  present  brow^t 
fFro  hyw,  )>at  made  all  thinge  of  nou^t  ;       275 

Be-hold  and  loke  a-boute  !  " 

The  powrter  to  }?e  pawnyer  wente; 
Sone  )?e  lyde  vp  he  hente  ; 

The  cherys  he  gan  be-hold. 
Wele  he  wyst,  for  his  co/wmywg,  280 

ffor  hys  present  to  J?e  kyng, 

Crete  gyft^  haue  he  schuld. 
He  seyd  :  cc  Be  hym  ]?#t  me  dere  bought, 
Yn  at  J?is  ^ate  commys  ]?<?u  nought, 

Be  hym  ]?^t  made  ]?/s  mold,  285 

The  thyrd  p#rte  bot  J>ou  gr^unte  me 
Off  ]>at  the  kyng  wyll  gyff  }?e, 

Whe];^r  it  be  sylu^r  our  gold." 


£>tr  Cleges  49 

Syr  cleges  seyd :  "  ]>er-to  I  sente." 

He  }aue  hym  leue,  and  in  he  wente  ^90 

W/t/>-outen  mowr  lettyng. 
Yn  he  went  a  grete  pas ; 
The  offycers  at  }?e  dore  was 

With  a  staff  standyng. 

Yn  com  sir  cleges  so  wyght;  *95 

He  seyd  :  u  Go,  chorle,  out  of  my  syght, 

W/t£-out  any  mour  lettyng. 
Y  schall  ]?e  bete  eu^ry  lythe, 
Hede  and  body,  w/t^-outyn  grythe, 

And  ]>ou  make  mour  pr^syng."  300 

cc  Code  s/V,"  seyd  sir  cleges  than, 
"  For  hys  loue,  \a\.  made  man, 

Sese  jour  angry  mode ! 
ffor  I  haue  a  pr^sante  brou^t 
ffro  hy/w  J?#t  made  all  thyng  of  now^ht        3°S 

And  dyed  vpon  }?e  rode. 
Thys  nyght  J?/'s  fruyt  grew ; 
Be-hold,  whe}?^r  I  be  fals  our  trew; 

They  be  gentyll  and  gode." 
The  vsscher  lyfte  vp  )?e  lyde  smertly ;         3i0 
The  fey  rest  cherys  ]>at  euer  he  sey ;     [£££•) 
He  m^ruyllyd  in  his  mode." 

The  vsscher  seyd :  "  Be  mary  suete, 
Thou  comyst  not  in  ]?/s  halle  on  fete, 

Y  tell  J;e,  sykerly,  315 


so 


Bot  ]>ou  grauwte  me,  w/t^-out  wernyng, 
The  thyrd  p#rte  of  ]?i  wyneng, 

When  Ipou  comyst  a-geyn  to  me." 
Syr  cleges  sey  now  o]?er  wone, 
Bot  \er  he  gr^ntyd  \\yrn  a-non  ;  320 

Yt  wold  now  o)?er-weys  be. 
Than  sir  cleges  with  heuy  chere 
Toke  his  son  and  his  pawnyer  ; 

In-to  j?e  hall  went  he. 

The  stewerd  stert  fast  in  )?e  hall,  325 

Among  J?e  lord^  in  ]?e  halle, 

That  weryd  ryche  wede. 
He  went  to  sir  cleges  boldly 
And  seyd  :  u  Who  made  J?e  so  herdy, 

To  come  hejw,  our  J?0u  were  bede  ?        330 
Cherle,"  he  seyd,  u  ]>ou  arte  to  bolde. 
W/'t£-draw  )?e  with  J?e  clothes  olde, 

Smertly,  I  J?e  rede." 
He  seyd  :  "  S/V,  I  haue  a  pr^sant  brou^t 
fFro  ]>at  lord  ]?tft  vs  dere  bought  335 

And  on  J?e  rode  gan  bled." 

The  stewerd  stert  forth  wele  sone 
And  plukyd  vp  j?e  lyde  a-non, 

Als  smertly  as  he  mou^ht. 
The  stewerd  seyd  :  u  Be  mary  dere,  340 

Thys  saw  I  neu^r  J?/s  tyme  of  }ere, 

Seth  I  was  man  I-wrou^ht. 


Thow  schall  cum  no  jiere^e  kyng, 
Bot  if  J?0u  gnmte  me  myn  askyng, 

Be  hym  \a\.  me  dere  bought.  345 

The  thyrd  parte  of  ]?e  kyng^j  gyfte 
Y  wyll  haue,  be  my  thryfte, 

Or  els  go  truse  be  oute  !  " 

* 


Syr  cleges  stode  and  be-thou^t  hym  fan  : 
And  I  schuld  p^rte  be-twyx  thre  men,        350 

My-selue  schuld  haue  no-thyng. 
fFor  my  traueyll  schall  I  not  gete, 
Bot  if  it  be  a  melys  mete." 

Thus  thought  hym  sore  sy^eng. 
He  seyd:  u  Herlot,  has  ]>ou  no  tong  ?  355 

Speke  to  me  and  tary  not  long 

And  gnznte  me  myn  askyng, 
Or  with  a  staff  I  schall  J;e  twake 
And  bete  j?i  ragg^j  to  ]?i  bake 

And  schofe  )>e  out  hedl^  !  ' 


Syr  cleges  saw  now  oper  bote, 
Hys  askyng  gr^nte  hym  he  mote, 

And  seyd  with  sy^hyng  sore  : 
What  fyat  euer  ]?e  kyng  rewerd, 
^e  schall  haue  |>e  thyrd  p^rte,  36S 

Whe|?^r  it  be  lesse  our  more." 
When  s/r  cleges  had  seyd  ]>at  word, 
The  stewerd  and  he  wer  a-corde 

And  seyd  to  hym  no  more. 


52  §>ir  Clegetf 

Vp  to  )?e  kyng  sone  he  went  ;  37o 

fFull  feyn  he  pr0ferd  hys  pn?sente, 
Knelyng  onwe  hys  kne  hym  be-fore. 

Syr  cleges  vn-cou^ryd  ]?e  pawnyer 
And  schewyd  J?e  kyng  |?e  cherys  clere, 

Vpon  ]?e  ground  knelyng.  375 

He  seyd  :  u  Ih^u,  ouer  sauyoure, 
Sente  }ou  J?is  fruyt  with  grete  honoar 

Thys  dey  onwe  erth  growyng." 
The  kyng  saw  J?e  cherys  fressch  and  new, 
And  seyd  :  u  I  thanke  {?e,  swete  Ih*m,        380 


Here  is  a  feyre  newyng.     -nrv  - 

clees  to  mete,        I   (  f-^    ' 


He  comandyd  sir  cleges  to  mete,        I 
A  word  aft^-r  with  hym  to  speke, 
W/t^>[out]  any  feylyng 

The  kyng  Iper-for  made  a  pmente 
And  send  vn-to  a  lady  fiente, 

Was  born  in  come-weyle. 
Sche  was  a  lady  bryght  and  schen  ; 
Aft^r  sche  was  hys  awne  quen, 

W/t^-outen  any  feyle.  390 

The  cherys  wer  s^rued  throu^he  J?e  hall. 
Than  seyd  j;e  kyng,  a  lord  ryall  : 

-  "  Be  m^ry,  be  my  conseyle  ! 
And  he  ]?at  brou^t  me  J?/s  present, 
Y  schall  make  hyra  so  content,  395 

It  schall  hym  wele  a-vayle." 


£>ir  Ciege*  53 

When  all  men  wer  merye  and  glad, 
Anon  ]?e  kyng  a  squyre  bade  : 

"  Bryng  \\yrn  me  be-forne, 
The  pore  man  J?#t  ]?e  cherys  brou^t."          4°° 
Anon  he  went  and  taryd  nought, 

W/t^-outen  any  scorne. 
He  brought  cleges  be-for  ]?e  kyng  ; 
Anon  he  fell  in  knelyng, 
He  wend  hys  gyft  had  be  lorn.  4<>S 

He  spake  to  }?e  kyng  with  word^j  felle. 
He  seyd  :  "  Lege  lord,  what  is  jour  wylle  ? 

Y  ame  jour  man  fre-borne." 

«  T  thanke  ]?e  hertely,"  seyd  J?e  kyng, 

i  u  Off  J?i  grete  pmentyng.  410 

That  ]>ou  hast  to  me  do. 
Thow  hast  hono«ryd  all  my  feste 
With  YI  deynter,  moste  and  leste, 

And  worschyped  me  ail-so. 
What  ]>at  euer  thou  wyll  haue,  15 

Y  wyll  j?e  grante,  so  god  me  saue, 

That  J?in  hert  stond^j  to, 
Whe]?<?r  it  be  lond  our  lede, 
Or  ofyer  gode,  so  god  me  spede, 

How-]?tft-  euer  it  go."  4*° 


He  seyd  :  u  Garem^rsy,  lege  Kyng  ! 
Thys  is  to  me  a  hye  thing. 
ffor  sych  one  as  I  be. 


54  £>tr  Cleges 

fforto  grante  me  lond  our  lede 

Or  any  gode,  so  god  me  spede,  425 

Thys  is  to  myche  for  me. 
Bot  seth  ]>at  I  schall  ches  my-selue, 
I  aske  no-thyng  bot  stroke  xn 

ffrely  now  grante  ye  me, 

With  my  staff  to  pay  'pern  all,  430 

Myn  adu*r.rarys  in  }?/s  hall, 

ffor  seynt  charyte." 

Than  ansuerd  vt^r,  ]?e  kyng ; 
He  seyd :  "  I  repent  my  grantyng, 
The  couenand  J?#t  I  made."  435 

He  seyd :  "  Be  hyw  J;at  made  me  and  the, 
Thou  had  be  better  take  gold  our  fe ; 

Mo«r  nede  )>er-to  ]>ou  hade." 
Syr  cleges  seyd  witb-outen  warryng : 
a  Lord,  it  is  your  awne  gr^nte[yng] ;  44° 

Yt  may  not  be  deleyd." 
The  kyng  was  angary  and  greuyd  sore ; 
Neu*r-J?e-les  he  gr^nte  \\yrn  thore, 
The  dynttt  schuld  be  payd. 


Syr  cleges  went  in-to  }?e  hall  445 

Among  |?e  grete  lord^j  all, 

W/t^-outen  any  mour. 
He  sought  aft^r  J?e  stewerd ; 
He  thou^t,  to  pay  hym  his  rewerd, 

ffor  he  had  greuyd  \\yrn  sore.  45° 


55 

He  gafe  J>e  steward  sych  a  stroke, 
That  he  fell  doune  lyke  a  bloke 

Among  all  ]>at  ther  were. 
And  after  he  gaff  hym  stroke  thre,  — 
He  seyd  :  US/V,  for  }?i  c«rtasse,  455 

Stryke  j?0u  me  no  mo#r !  " 

Out  of  ]?e  hall  sir  cleges  wente ; 
To  pay  mo  stroke  he  had  mente, 

W/t^-owtyn  any  lette. 

To  )?e  vsscher  he  gan  go ;  46° 

Sore  stroke  ^affe  he  tho, 

When  \e\  to-ged^r  mette, 
That  after-werd  many  a  dey 
He  wold  wern  no  man  ]?e  wey ; 

So  grymly  he  hym  grete.  465 

Syr  [cleges]  seyd  :  "  Be  my  thryfte, 
Thou  hast  the  thyrd  p#rte  of  my  gyfte, 

Ryght  euyn  as  I  J?e  hy^ht." 

To  j?e  porter  com  he  $are ; 

ffoure  stroke  payd  he  thare ;  470 

His  parte  had  he  tho. 
Aftyr-werd  many  a  dey 
He  wold  wern  no  man  j;e  wey, 

Ne]?*r  to  ryde  ne  go. 

The  fyrst  stroke  he  leyd  hym  owne,  475 

He  brake  a-two  hys  schuld^r  bone 

And  hys  ry^ht  arme  also. 


56 


Syr  cleges  seyd  :  "  Be  my  thryfte, 
Thow  hast  |?e  thyrd  parte  of  my  gyfte  j 
Couenant  made  we  so."  480 

The  kyng  was  sett  in  hys  p^rlere, 
Myrth  and  reuell  forto  here  ; 

Syr  cleges  thed^r  wente. 
An  harper  had  a  geyst  I-seyd, 
That  made  J?e  kyng  full  wele  apayd,  485 

As  to  hys  entente. 
Than  seyd  }?e  kyng  to  JMS  herper  ; 
"  Mykyll  ]>ou  may  ofte-tyme  here, 

fFor  thou  hast  ferre  wente. 
Tell  me  trew,  if  ]>ou  can  ;  49° 

Knowyst  ]>ou  thys  pore  man 

That  ]?/s  dey  me  p/vsente  ?  " 

He  seyd  :  u  My  lege,  w/t^-oute«  les, 
Som-tyme  men  callyd  hym  cleges  ; 

He  was  a  knyght  of  }oure.  495 

Y  may  thinke,  when  \a\.  he  was 
ffull  of  fortone  and  of  grace, 

A  man  of  hye  stature." 
The  kyng  seyd  :  "  p/'s  is  not  he  iw-dede  ; 
Yt  is  long  gon  ]>at  he  was  dede^  500 

That  I  louyd  paramour.    4(w^\ 
Wold  god  ]?<3t  he  wer  wyth  me  ; 
Y  had  hym  leu^r  than  knyght^  thre, 

That  knyght  was  styff  in  stoure." 


ir  Cleges  57 

Syr  cleges  knelyd  be-for  J?e  kyng ;  s°5 

ffor  he  had  gnzntyd  hym  hys  askyng, 

He  thankyd  hym  cartasly. 
Spesyally  J?e  kyng  hym  pnzyd, 
The  thre  men,  Ipat  he  stroke  payd, 
Where-for  it  was  and  why.  5 10 

He  seyd :  "  I  myght  not  com  in-werd, 
To  I  gnmtyd  Iche  of  ]>em  ]>e  thyrd  parte 

Off  Ipat  $e  wold  gyff  me. 
Be  tyat  I  schuld  haue  no^ht  my-selue ; 
To  dele  among  theym  strokys  xii  5*5 

Me  thou^t  it  best,  trewly." 

The  lord^j  lew^e,  both  old  and  }enge, 
And  all  ]>at  ther  w*r  wyth  J?e  kyng, 

They  made  solas  I-now^e. 
They  lew^e,  so  J?^i  my^t  not  sytte;  52° 

They  seyd  :  u  It  was  a  nobull  wytte, 

Be  cryst  we  make  a  vow." 
The  kyng  send  after  hys  stewerd 
And  seyd :  "And  he  grante  }?e  any  rewerd, 

Askyth  it  be  J?e  law."  5»S 

The  stewerd  seyd  and  lukyd  grym ; 
u  Y  thynke  neuur  to  haue  a-do  with  hym ; 

Y  wold  I  had  neu^r  hym  knaw." 

The  kyng  seyd  :  "  W/t^-outen  blame, 
Tell  me,  gode  man,  what  is  ]?i  name,          530 
Befor  me  anon-ryght !  " 


58  £>ir  Clege* 

u  My  lege,"  he  seyd,  "p/s  man  3011  telly  s, 
Som-tyme  men  callyd  me  sir  cleges ; 

Y  was  jour  awne  knyght." 
u  Arte}?0u  my  knyght,  \a\.  seruyd  me,  535 

That  was  so  gentyll  and  so  fre, 

Both  strong,  herdy  and  wyght  ?  " 
"£e,  lord,"  he  seyd,  "so  mote  I  the, 
Tyll  god  all-my^ht  hath  vyset  me; 

Thus  pou^rte  hath  me  dy^ht."  54° 

The  kyng  gaffe  hym  anow-ry^ht 
All  }?tft  longer  to  a  knyght, 

To  a-ray  hys  body  with. 
The  castell  of  cardyff  also 
With  all  J?e  po#rtena«s  ^r-to,  545 

To  hold  with  pes  and  grythe. 
Than  he  made  hym  hys  stuerd 
Of  all  hys  londys  after-werd, 

Off  water,  lond,  and  fry  the, 
A  cowpe  of  gold  he  gafe  hym  blythe,  550 

To  here  to  dam  clarys,  hyj  wyfe, 

Tokenywg  of  loy  and  myrthe. 

The  kyng  made  hys  son  squyre 
And  gafe  hym  a  coler  forte  were 

With  a  huwdryth  pownd  of  rente.  555 

When  Jm  com  home  in  }?is  maner, 
Dame  clarys,  ]>at  lady  clere, 

Sche  thankyd  god  veramewt. 


V 


£>ir  Clege0  59 

Sche  thanked  god  of  all  man^r, 

For  sche  had  both  knyght  and  squyre          560 

Som-what  to  tyer  entente. 

Vpon  J?e  dettys  Ipat  they  hyght, 

They  payd  als  fast  as  \e\  myght, 

To  eu^ry  man  wer  content. 

A  gentyll  stewerd  he  was  hold;  565 

All  men  hym  knew,  $ong  and  hold, 

Yn  lond  wer  \a\.  he  wente. 
Ther  fell  to  hym  so  grete  ryches, 
He  vansyd  hys  kynne,  mour  and  les, 

The  knyght  c«rtas  and  hend.  5?o 

Hys  lady  and  he  lyued  many  ^ere 
With  Toy  and  m^ry  chere, 

Tyll  god  dyde  for  them  send, 
ffor  ^er  godnes  J?#t  \e\  dyd  here, 
TKer  saulys  went  to  heuew  clere,  575 

Ther  is  loy  w/t^-outen  ende. 
Amen. 


DAME   SIRIZ 


I  .  As  I  com  by  an  waie.  The  opening  lines  are  significant. 
In  the  first  place,  there  is  no  direct  address  to  the  audience  such 
as  is  usual  in  metrical  romance.  In  the  second  place,  the  reference 
to  source  is  not  to  a  written  source  but  to  a  wayside  tale.  Several 
of  the  popular  ballads  open  in  a  similar  way;  cf.  nos.  26,  38,  108, 
180,  188,  etc.,  in  Child's  collection. 

5.  vnder  gore.  Cf.  <  glad  under  gore,'  Boddeker,  Altenglische 
Dichtungcn,  W.  L.  I,  16  j  '  geynest  vnder  gore,'  ib.  W.  L.  2,  37. 
'And  slepe  under  my  gore,'  Chaucer's  Sir  Thopas,  78.  For  other 
references,  see  Bradley-Stratmann,  M.  E.  Diet,  and  N.  E.  D. 
The  idea  of  the  line  is  the  same  as  that  expressed  at  greater  length 
by  Host  Bailly  in  speaking  of  the  monk  and  of  the  Nun's  Priest  in 
the  prologue  and  epilogue,  respectively,  to  the  Nonne  Precstes  Tale. 

IO.  alon.  The  rime  seems  to  demand  alone,  a  M.  E.  com- 
pound from  O.  E.  eall  -f-  ana.  The  line  would  then  read,  *  to  her 
alone  belonged»his  heart.'  Against  this  interpretation  (favored  by 
Professor  Fliigel)  may  be  cited  the  unusual  use  of  hire  with  dative 
force  and  the  early  use  of  alone  as  a  single  word,  not  elsewhere  cited 
as  early  as  this.  See  N.  E.  D.  A  second  possible  interpretation 
of  alon  would  be  '  all  on,  '  since  the  manuscript  does  not  make  it 
clear  whether  one  word  is  intended  or  two.  This  explanation  has 
to  assume  imperfect  rime.  Cf.  '  On  hir  was  al  my  love  leyd,'  Boke 
of  the  Duchesse,  1  146.  A  third  explanation,  advanced  by  Matzner,  is 
that  offered  in  the  glossary  to  the  present  volume.  This  explanation 
involves  imperfect  rime,  and  lacks  the  support  of  perfect  parallels, 
along,  in  this  sense,  being  usually  accompanied  by  the  preposition  on, 
as  in  '  Mi  lif  is  al  on  J?e  ylong,'  Boddeker,  op.  cit.  G.  L.  viu,  154. 
For  other  instances,  cf.  Boddeker,  glossary. 

13.  }erne  he  him  bi-J>OUte,  'earnestly  he  reflected.' 
Cf.  '  Godess  peoww  himm  jeorne  birrp  bipennkenn,'  Orm.  2916 
(Matzner). 


62 

14.  moute.  Matzner  explains  this  form  as  an  analogical  one 
influenced  by  the  infinitive  form  mugan,  and  cites  from  Rich.  R.  of 
Hampole  the  form  mught. 

19.  wente  him.  The  verb  preserves  its  earlier  meaning  'turn* 
and  hence  takes  an  object.  Cf.  v.  155,  etc. 

J?en.   O.  E.  p<em,  dat.   Cf.  22,  299.   Cf.  also  Lay  am  on,  14289, 

*  to  pan  inne  '  (cited  by  Matzner). 

22.  ]?en  halle.  The  old  gender  distinction  has  been  lost,  since 
O.  E.  heal(l}  was  feminine. 

23.  palle.   Cf.  Sir  Launfal  (ed.  Ritson),  944,  '  The  lady  was 
clad  yn  purpere  palle.'   Matzner  cites  also  Orm.  8171,  Layamon,  I, 
55,  L.  Minot,  p.  30,  Toiuneley  Plays,  p.  186. 

25.  Notice  the  form  of  greeting  in  keeping  with  clerkly  dignity. 

26.  SO  ich  euer  bide  wenne.   A  frequent  form  of  assevera- 
tion, *  as  sure  as  I  expect  happiness.'   Cf.  vv.  113,  116,  273,  433. 
Cf.  also  Chaucer's  Nonne  Preestes  Tale,  246,   *  SJo  haue  I  loye  or 
blis.'   Matzner  compares,  *  swa  ich  abide  are,'  Lay.  i,  1 29,  *  Swa  ich 
aeuere  ibiden  are,'  Lay.  i,  141. 

wenne.  The  spelling  is  Kentish,  but  the  rime  k  Midland. 
34»  fre>  '  ready  to  give  and  act  for  you.'   Cf.  Chaucer' sfredom, 
also  the  similar  development  of  meaning  in  *  liberal.' 

37.  Notice  how  the  clerk  maintains  the  sanctimonious  manner 
shown  in  v.  25.    Cf.  also  112,  146,  161. 

38.  Bote  On  J>at,  *  only  provided  that.' 

43*  ^Afilekin.  This  diminutive  form  was  probably  not  uncom- 
mon, since  it  has  survived  in  the  surname  Wilkin.  It  is  a  Low 
German  diminutive  form.  In  the  German  tale  Rittertreue  (Ge- 
sammtabenteucr,  i,  6)  appears  the  character  *  grave  Willekin  von 
Muntaburc.' 

47.  vilte'.  The  context  seems  to  indicate  a  meaning  like  that  of 
houncurtcis  in  the  preceding  line.  It  looks  as  if  the  word  has  been 
influenced  in  meaning  by  the  independent  word  of  the  same  root 
form,  'vilani,  and  meant  something  like  *  boorishness '  or  '  churlish- 
ness.' The  French  word  whet  means,  according  to  Godefroy, 

*  bassesse,'  *  etat  miserable,'  *  chose  miserable,'  *  meprisable,'  and  in 
the  Chanson  de  Roland  it  is  coupled  with  hunte,  '  hunte  e  a  viltet,' 
437.  The  word  wi/ani,  on  the  other  hand,  in  lines  128  and  250, 
is  coupled  with  *  shame  '  and  has  a  meaning  more  properly  belong- 
ing to  vilte. 


63 

Con.  This  word,  like  the  modern  French  savoirt  expresses  the 
two  meanings  of '  know  '  and  *  be  able. '  Here  it  means  *  know.' 

54.  J?at  be  j?OU  bolde,  *  of  that  be  assured.'  Cf.  Twain  and 
Gaivain  (ed.  Schleich),  169,  'patbe^e  balde,'  1285,  'pat  be  pou 
balde,'  2781,  pat  be  $e  balde.*  Cf.  also  Town/.  Myst.  (ed.  Surt. 
Soc.)t  p.  78  (Matzner). 

56.   noui}t,   *  not  at  all.'   O.  E.  na  -f-  iviht. 

62.  SCtten  Spel  on  ende,  'say  my  speech  to  the  end* 
(Matzner).  According  to  N.  E.  D.  the  phrase  in  M.  E.  means 
'  begin  a  discourse.' 

75»  OUre  sire,  *your  husband.'  The  oure  probably  means 
1  your,'  though,  as  Matzner  has  pointed  out,  the  singular  forms  of 
the  second  person  are  used.  But  cf.  ou  <  you '  in  Vox  and  Wolf, 
214,  215,  216. 

77.  feire  of  botolfston.  Boston  takes  its  name  from  St. 
Botolph,  the  patron  saint  of  sailors.  According  to  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle  (Parker  MS.  654),  Botulf  ongon  mynster  timbran  at 
Icanho.  Around  this  monastery,  which  was  destroyed  by  the  Danes 
in  870,  grew  up  a  town.  After  the  Norman  Conquest  Boston,  or 
Botolfston,  was  a  port  of  importance.  In  1204,  when  the  quin- 
xieme  tax  was  imposed  on  the  ports  of  England,  that  of  Boston  was 
second  in  amount  only  to  that  of  London.  At  this  period  a  great  an- 
nual fair  was  held  at  Boston,  a  great  market  held  by  special  license 
from  the  king,  a  place  that  would  naturally  be  visited  by  the  mer- 
chant husband  of  dame  Margeri.  (Cf.  Thorn,  of  Walsingham,  Hist. 
Angl.  p.  54.)  For  reference  to  fairs  and  some  of  the  customs  con- 
nected with  them,  see  P.  Plowman,  A  iv,  43,  v,  119,  171,  and 
Brand's  Popular  Antiquities  (ed.  Ellis),  n,  453-470.  The  etymol- 
ogy of  '  fair,'  Lat.  feriae,  later  feria,  suggests  that  these  yearly 
markets  were  held  at  times  of  church  festivals  (Matzner). 

In  Chaucer's  Shipman^t  Tale  the  deceived  husband  is  absent  at 
a  fair  in  Bruges  (v.  325). 

8 1,  82.  Cf.  Interludium,  5,  6. 

83.  Cf.  Sir  Eg/amour  (ed.  Halliwell),  1088,  « Wele  were  hym 
that  hur  myght  welde.'  Cf.  also  Florisand  Blauncheflur,  251-4^ 

Wei  were  pat  ilke  mon 
J?at  mi^te  winne  wip  pat  on  j 
Ne  porte  he  neure,  ful  iwis, 
Wilne  more  of  paradis. 


64 

S6CC.  Matzner's  emendation  to  tele  seems  right.  Cf.  101,  198, 

*45»  264>  S^- 

102.    On  flore.    Cf.  Interludium,  9. 

1 1 6.  So  ich  euer  bid  en  30!.  Similar  expressions  occur  in 
lines  26,  133,  273.  The  modern  equivalent  is  *  assure  as  Christ- 
mas.' See  26  note. 

Up.  CUrteis  mon  and  hende.  A  frequently  occurring 
formula  in  metrical  romance.  Cf.  Sir  humbras^  (Naples  MS.)  15. 
*  Curteis  and  hynde  he  was.'  (Quoted  by  Halliwell,  Thornton  Ro- 
mances, p.  269,  etc.) 

140.   J>a,  scribal  error  for  pat. 

143.  Bi  me  I  sale,  *  concerning  myself  I  am  speaking.* 
1  That  is  my  situation. ' 

146.   Cf.  25  note,  37  note.   Cf.  also  112,  161. 

149-160.  The  quickness  of  the  transition  from  the  first  dialogue 
to  the  second  is  noteworthy  as  indicating  that  the  underlying  form 
of  the  story  is  a  dramatic  version.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that 
Wilekin  is  not  merely  a  love-sick  character  needing  to  be  coaxed 
by  the  go-between,  but  is  active  in  every  way  in  prosecuting  his  suit. 
He  is  not  a  hero  of  courtly  romance. 

152.  A  frend  him  radde.  That  the  advice  of  the  friend  and 
the  method  of  wooing  subsequently  adopted,  were  not  strange  to 
English  life  of  the  fourteenth  century  must  be  inferred  from  Piers 
Plowman  (C  vn.  185,  186)  where  Luxuria  confesses  that  he — 

.   .  .  sende  out  olde  baudes 
For  to  wynne  to  my  wil  *  wommen  with  gyle  ; 
By  sorcerye  som  tyme  •  and  some  tyme  by  maistrye. 

154.  Siriz.  This  name  does  not  appear  in  English  outside  the 
present  poem.  The  variant  spelling  Strip  indicates  the  true  pronun- 
ciation, as  is  proved  by  the  rimes  (161-2,  267-8),  the  %  replacing 
py  as  in  mix  1 62  (for  ivip),  seiz  1 79.  The  name  cannot  be  French, 
as  is  indicated  by  the  non-French  ending  -p.  It  is  more  likely  from 
the  Norse  Sigridr,  a  name  which  is  not  surprising  if,  as  Heuser 
{Anglia^  xxx,  318)  believes,  the  work  was  originally  composed  in 
the  Danish  East  of  England.  The  name  may,  however,  be  derived 
from  the  O.  E.  Sigehred,  analogous  with  the  O.  E.  Sigcbryht. 

156.  SlliJ>e,  '  quickly.'  The  development  in  meaning  is  the 
same  as  in  the  German  getchioind9  which  comes  from  the  same  root, 
meaning  *  strong,' 


65 

159.  Wordes  milde.  A  frequent  expression  in  metrical  ro- 
mance. Cf.  Sir  Eg/amour  (ed.  Halliwell),  85,  607. 

161,162.  Siriz,  wiz.  The  rime  indicates  the  pronunciation 
as  Sir  it  A. 

173.  nelde.  This  word  is  usually  printed  as  a  proper  noun. 
The  word,  which  is  always  used  vocatively,  probably  means  *  old 
lady'  and  is,  as  Heuser  has  pointed  out  (o/>.  cit.  p.  319)  parallel 
with  mome  in  the  Inter ludium.  The  initial  n  certainly  comes  from 
a  preceding  indefinite  article,  and  is  the  result  of  wrong  division  be- 
tween words.  Such  wrong  division  is  frequent.  For  instance,  in  A 
Pennyworth  of  Wit  appear  anice  for  a  nice  34,  a  neld  for  an  eld 
79,  no  noper  for  nonoper  194,  pinold  for  pin  old  341,  peldman  157. 

I73  ff-  Some  of  the  phrases  in  this  love  complaint  are  similar  to 
those  in  contemporary  love  lyrics.  For  example,  with  line  182  com- 
pare *  On  molde  y  waxe  mad,'  Boddeker,  Altengl.  Dichtungcn, 
W.  L.  m,  2,  or  with  line  189,  *broht  icham  in  wo,'  op.  cit.  13. 
On  the  whole,  however,  the  language,  in  spite  of  the  stiffness  of  the 
versification,  is  appropriately  prosaic. 

179.   seiz,  for  seip.   Cf.  mix  forwip  162,  Siriz  for  Strip. 

194.  senne,  see  note  to  v.  26. 

2O  I.  Blessefe.  The  earliest  use  of  this  phrase  in  exclamation 
cited  in  N.  E.  D.  is  1590. 

204.  harde  I-bonden.  Cf.  Ludus  Coventriae  (ed.  Halli- 
well, p.  345)  where  Anima  Christi  says  of  the  devil,  "  fful  harde 
I  xal  hym  bynde." 

212.  hem  mote  wel  spede,  'for  them  [things]  may  speed 
well'  (or  *  prosper'). 

2l6.  On  him  f  is.  Elliptical  expression.  «  That '  must  be  sup- 
plied in  translation. 

233.   Cf.  Intcrludium,  22. 

240.  word  on  honde.  Matzner  conjectures  that  on  is  for  an, 
which  appears  not  infrequently  for  and.  It  would  be  less  arbitrary,  in 
my  opinion,  to  assume  here  a  reference  to  the  raising  of  the  right 
hand  in  taking  oath.  Cf. — 

King  Arthur  then  held  up  his  hand 
According  there  as  was  the  law. 
The  Marriage  of  Sir  Gawain,  stanza  55  Child,  Ballads,  no.  3 1. 

Cf.  also  the  discussion  of  an  analogous  O.E.  phrase,  hand  ofer  heafod^ 
by  F.  Tupper,  Jr.,  Journ.  of  Engl.  and  Germ.  Phil.  xi.  97  ft. 


66 

247*  SOmer  driuen.  Matzner  assumes  either  sumer-driucn, 
1  sumpter-driven,'  (O.  E.  seamerc},  or  [OH]  sumer,  *  in  summer,' 
or  a  corrupt  line.  The  first  assumption  seems  most  plausible.  For  an 
account  of  the  custom  of  punishing  women  by  making  them  ride 
on  an  ass,  see  Grimm,  Rechtsalt,  4th  ed.  n,  p.  31 8.  In  the  Chan- 
son de  Roland,  Ganelon,  in  announcing  to  Marsilies  the  punishment 
in  store  for  him,  says,  — 

"  Getez  serez  sur  un  malvais  sumier 

par  jugement  iloec  perdrez  le  chief:  "  [481—2]. 
Cf.  also  701,  1828.  In  these  instances  sumier  means  'mule'  or 
1  ass. '  This  same  word  in  England  had  a  developed  meaning,  and  in 
the  dialects  sum(m)er  is  used  as  the  name  of  supporting  beams  of 
various  kinds.  It  seems  possible,  then,  that  the  custom  alluded  to  in 
the  text  is  that  of  charivari.  Cf.  Wright,  Dialect  Dictionary  under 
summer. 

26l.  Togoder  hele.  Matzner's  reading  To  goder  hele  is 
right.  The  phrase  '  goder  hele '  is  not  infrequent.  Matzner  cites  Lay. 
i.  153,  Rob.  of  Gl.  368,  Toivnl.  Myst.  p.  89.  Cf.  also  goder  hile, 
268  below.  PProper-hele  is  not  infrequent.  Cf.  P.  Plowman,  B 
xiv,  1 20,  Boddeker,  op.  cit.  p.  451. 

273.  So  ich  euere.  See  26  note. 

277.  maistri,  *  artifice,'  'trick.'  Perhaps  influenced  in  its 
meaning  by  the  independent  word  mystery. 

279.  The  transition  from  addressing  Wilekin  to  addressing  the 
dog  is  very  abrupt  and  is  good  evidence  in  support  of  Heuser's  con- 
tention that  the  Dame  Siri>z  is  based  upon  a  dramatic  original. 

Pepis.  Matzner  reads  Pepir  and  seems  certainly  to  be  right  in 
his  emendation.  The  use  of  pepper  is  one  of  the  oriental  traits  in 
the  Dame  Sirix.  Cf.  Introduction. 

315.   Seli  wif,  *  good  woman.'   Cf.  337. 

hounbinde.   Cf.  harde  I-bonden,  204. 

324.   daus  =  the  more  frequent  'dawes.'    O.  E.  dagas. 

to  non.  This  expression  remains  a  crux.  Matzner  suggests  '  at 
noon,'  and  it  is  worth  remembering  that  anchorites  and  hermits  took 
but  one  meal  a  day,  and  that  meal  came  at  12  instead  of  9  on  fast- 
days.  Cf.  P.  Plowman  (ed.  Skeat),  B  vi,  146  note.  Can  the  au- 
thor's conception  have  been  that  Christ  merely  kept  forty  successive 
fast  days  ?  Cf.  Sir  Cleges,  324  note. 


67 

340.  Feiror,  etc. :  A  stereotyped  form  of  expression.  Cf. 
Sir  Lumbras  (ed.  Halliwell),  25,  26. 

Als  fayre  a  lady  to  wyefe  had  he 
Als  any  erthly  mane  thurte  see. 

353-  Clerc  to  wiche.  The  medieval  idea  of  the  command 
of  clerks  over  the  powers  of  magic  is  illustrated  in  the  popular  stories 
that  grew  up  about  Roger  Bacon.  Upon  this  command  depends  the 
well  known  medieval  popular  tale,  appearing  in  various  forms  as 
Le  Pauvre  Clerc,  Der  arme  Schuler,  The  Freiris  of  Berivik,  etc. 
Threats  of  transformation  were  used  by  others  besides  clerks.  Ralph 
Roister  Doister  (iv,  3),  wooing  Christian  Custance,  threatens 

"  Yes,  in  faith,  Kitte,  I  shall  thee  and  thine  so  charme 
That  all  women  incarnate  by  thee  may  beware. ' ' 

390,  421.  belle.  Matzner  translates  as  *  belly'  and  cites  the 
analogy  of  other  oaths  referring  to  parts  of  God's  body,  blood,  bones, 
etc.  It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  the  M.  E.  word  for  *  belly  ' 
without  exception  elsewhere  has  a  final  -/'  or  -y  or  -u  or  -iv  to 
correspond  with  the  final  -g  of  O.  E.  belg,  balg.  Another  possible 
interpretation,  cited  by  Matzner  from  Wright's  Prov.  Dictionary  t 
is  *  mantle.'  Bradley-Stratmann  cites  belle,  meaning  *  tunic,'  and 
the  allusion  in  the  oath  may  be  to  a  garment  familiar  through 
representations  of  God  in  liturgical  plays  or  mystery  plays.  A  more 
likely  interpretation,  however,  is  *  bell,'  referring  to  the  bell  used  in 
the  mass.  *  By  bell  and  book,'  or  'book  and  bell,'  was  a  frequent 
form  of  asseveration  in  the  Middle  Ages  (cf.  N.  E.  £>.).  Cf.  also 
"  by  seint  Poules  belle,"  one  of  the  oaths  of  Host  Bailly  (Pro/,  to 
Nonnes  Preestes  Talc,  14).  Cf.  also :  '  by  buke  and  by  belle ' 
(Aivntyn  of  Arthur e,  30);  f  Than  he  hym  cursyd  with  boke  and 
belle  '  (Harleian  Morte  Arthur ,  3018). 

(t  But  pat  ich  wille,  pat  pou  swere 
On  auter  and  on  messegere, 
On  pe  belles  pat  men  ringes, 
On  messeboke  J?e  prest  on  singes." 
Havelok.   (Emerson,  M.  E.  Reader,  p.  76,  vv.  23-26.) 

406.  wente  hire,  cf.  19  note. 

411.    for  Jrider,  forforp  pider. 


68 


THE   VOX  AND   WOLF 


I.  VOX)  a  characteristic  Southern  form.  The  corresponding 
feminine  form  persists  in  modern  English,  as  *  vixen.' 

9.  strok.  One  would  like  to  take  this  as  the  preterit  of 
strecchen,  suggesting  the  stretching  involved  in  peering.  Matzner's 
interpretation,  however,  is  probably  the  correct  one  j  *  went,* 

*  passed,'  O.  E.  strican.   The  furtive  movements  of  the  fox  are  well 
expressed  by  this  word.   Notice  the  opposite  developments  in  mean- 
ing in  mod.  Engl.  strike  and  swing. 

12.  WOUS.  The  w-  replaces  v-  as  it  does  in  ivox  12,  33  (for 
•vox).  Vous  would  be  the  Southern  M.  E.  form  for  O.  E.  fust 

*  ready,'  *  prepared.  ' 

21.  bruche.   Matzner  explains  as  '  opportunity  '  from  O.  E. 
brycey  'use,'  'profit.'   Is  it  not  more  probably  from  O.  E.  brcce, 
bricey  *  breaking,  '  '  breach  ?  '   The  Southern  character  of  the  text  is 
sufficient  to  explain  the  u  for  the  O.  E.  /.    Cf.  the  rime,  '  kun, 
Aim,  123—4;  sugge,  a^uSSey  2°7~8  ;  sitte,  putte,  281—2. 

22.  wond,  'got,'  'passed'  (Matzner).    Perhaps  the  original 
meaning  of  the  word  was  still  felt,  and  it  may  be  translated  by 
'  twisted  '  or  '  wriggled.' 

26.  haiward,  '  hedge-ward,'  an  officer  whose  duty  it  was  to 
protect  the  growing  crops  in  the  enclosed  fields.  Cf.  Piers  Plowman, 
C  vi,  1  6,  and  C  xiv,  45,  and  the  notes  by  Skeat,  who  cites  from 
the  romance  of  Alisandcr  (ed.  Weber,  1.  5754)  : 

In  tyme  of  heruest  mery  it  is  ynough, 
Peres  and  apples  hongeth  on  bough  j 
The  hayward  bloweth  mery  his  home, 
In  eueryche  felde  ripe  is  corne. 
The  second  passage  cited  reads  as  follows  : 

Thauh  the  messager  make  hus  wey  •  a-mydde  the  whete, 
Wole  nowys  man  wroth  be  •  ne  hus  wed  take  ; 
Ys  non  haiwarde  yhote  •  hus  wed  for  to  take  ; 

Necessitas  non  habet  leg  em. 

Ac  yf  the  marchaunt  make  hus  way  •  ouere  menne  corne, 
And  the  haywarde  happe  •  with  hym  for  to  mete, 
Other  hus  hatt  other  hus  hode  •  othere  elles  hus  gloues 
The  marchaunt  mot  for-go  •  other  moneye  of  hus  porse. 


69 

That  the  hay  ward's  police  duties  were  somewhat  more  general  in 
character  than  the  etymology  of  his  name  would  indicate,  is  shown 
by  the  following  passages  cited  by  Matzner. 

"  The  hay  ward  heteth  us  harm  to  habben  of  his  ; 
The  bailif  bockneth  us  bale." 

Wright,  Political  Songs,  p.  149.  j 

and  * '  Canstow  .   .   .   have  an  home  and  be  hay-warde, 

And  liggen  out  a  nyghtes, 
And  kepe  my  corn  in  my  croft 
From  pykers  and  theeves." 

Cf.  the  hay  wart's  part  in  the  poem  on  the  *  Man  in  the  Moon* 
(Harl.  MS.  2253,  ed.  Boddeker,  177).  The  reeve  was  the  overseer 
of  a  farm  or  manor. 

31.  There  seem  to  have  been  some  lines  omitted  between  lines 
30  and  31.  The  fox  seems  to  have  devoured  some  of  the  hens,  per- 
haps two  of  the  four.  Cf.  40,  54,  55,  opre  58,  68,  98.  Cf.  129 
note,  151  note. 

43.  heddre.  Matzner  suggests  the  insertion  of  blod  after  hed- 
dre.  He  also  cites,  *  Hwon  heo  beo^  ileten  blod  on  one  erm 
eddre,'  Ancr.  Riw.  p.  258.  '  Wiftuten  eddren  capitalen  pet  bled- 
den,'  ib. 

78.  nom  fat  boket.  Cf.  the  modern  uses  of  the  word  *  take  * 
in  *  take  a  high  note '  in  singing,  or  *  take  a  fence '  in  the  sense  of 
4  vault. ' 

87,  88.  The  litotes  in  these  lines  is  effective.  The  lines  have 
Chaucerian  quality. 

93.  The  sense  seems  to  require  a  negative  statement.  If  so  the 
negative  ne  is  carelessly  omitted  through  confusion  with  the  ending 
-ne  in  %erne.  Cf.  Aquenche,  112.  Or  is  the  line  to  be  understood 
as  meaning,  (in  general)  when  he  found  water,  he  drank  eagerly, 
but  .  .  ? 

96—7,  IOI— 2.  Notice  the  gnomic  expressions,  which  are  char- 
acteristic of  popular  lore,  from  which  the  present  poem  has  obviously 
been  derived. 

1 06.  hiis.  The  initial  h-  is  dialectal ;  the  vowel  length  is 
"poetic  license."  Cf.  Bedier's  comment  on  the  carelessness  con- 
cerning rimes  in  the  French  fabliaux.  (Les  Fabliaux,  pp.  342  ff. ) 


70 

123-4.  T^e  "me  seems  to  indicate  Midland  dialect,  but  the  rime 
is  obviously  imperfect.  Cf.  263—4. 

128.  Sigrim.  The  distinctively  English  form  of  this  proper 
name  shows  that  the  story  circulated  in  English  popular  lore.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  Reneuard,  133. 

135.  hedde,  Southern  form. 

140.  paradiis.  Cf.  Intro d.  p.  xii. 

140-7.  This  description  of  the  joys  of  paradise  is  less  concrete 
than  other  descriptions  in  this  story.  It  is  expressed  in  terms  ap- 
propriate to  the  listening  wolf,  but  is  distinctly  reminiscent  of  the 
contemporary  humorous  poem,  The  Land  of  Cokaygne.  For  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  burlesque  element  in  descriptions  of  an  Earthly  Para- 
dise, cf.  Schofield,  Publ.  M.  L.  ^.txix.  187  ff. 

151.  There  seems  to  be  something  omitted  at  this  point, — 
further  evidence  (cf.  31  note  and  129  note)  that  this  English  version 
is  abridged  in  places. 

I59«  vend  for  wend.   See  note  to  vv.  12  and  33. 

162.  fond.  Plainly  the  rime  fond,  goed,  is  "poetic  license.'* 
Cf.  Bedier,  op.  cit.  342. 

167.  bej>,  3  pi.  Southern  form,  cf.  295  217,  etc. 

get,  a  survival  of  the  O.  E.  mutated  plural. 

178.  to  .   .    .    I-take.   Cf.  Mod.  Engl.  « take  to  drink,  'etc. 

199.  I-faie.  The  rime  shows  the  manuscript  reading  to  be 
wrong. 

199  ff.  The  enforced  confession  of  Sigrim  finds  parallels  in  the 
devil's  confession  in  Cynewulf's  Juliana  and  in  that  of  Faux- 
Semblaunt  in  the  Roman  de  la  Rose.  Analogous  literary  compositions 
are  the  confession  of  Chaucer's  Pardoner  and  such  later  satirical 
compositions  as  Colyn  Bloiubor  s  Testament. 

207-8.  SUgge,  abugge.  A  Kentish  rime.  O.  E.  secgan, 
abycgan.  Cf.  241—2. 

224.  oferes  kunnes.   Cf.  nones  kunnes,  294. 

233.  bruche.  Cf.  21  note. 

246.   Ich  wille  OUp.   Cf.  Modern  dialect,  '  I  want  out,'  etc. 

256.   Wroggen,  'frogs.'   Cf.  12  note,  33,  159  note. 

264.  Ine,  for  inne  (Matzner),  another  instance  of  a  word  dis- 
torted by  the  scribe  for  the  sake  of  the  rime.  Cf.  106,  162.  The 
author  of  the  original  was  not  averse  to  assonance.  Cf.  123-4, 
249-50. 


?i 

265.  houssong.  Cf.  270,  274.  The  origin  of  this  interest-  l\ 
ing  word  is  thus  traced  by  Prof.  F.  Tupper,  Jr. :  houssong  <  (h)out-  \\ 
song  <  utsong  <  uhtsong,  l  matins.' 

272.  CUftiler,  *  gardener  in  a  monastery.'  Cf.  the  "  Curtal 
Friar  "  in  the  Robin  Hood  ballad. 

SIR  CLEGES 

Since  the  difference  between  the  two  texts  is  so  great  that  it  is 
impossible  to  print  the  variant  readings  at  the  bottom  of  the  pages, 
it  seems  desirable  to  illustrate  the  difference  by  printing  the  first 
stanza  of  the  E.  text  in  full  in  the  notes  :  — 

TILL  ye  lystyn,  and  ye  schyll  here 
Of  Eldyrs  that  before  vs  were 

Bothe  hardy  and  wy^t. 
In  the  tyme  of  kynge  Vter* 
That  was  Fadyr  of  kynge  A[r]thyrf 

A  semely  man  in  si^t. 
He  hade  A  kny^t  pat  hight  sir  Cleges, 
A  dowtyar  was  non  of  dedis 

Of  the  Rovnd  tabull  Right. 
He  was  A  man  of  hight  stature, 
And  therto  full  fayr  of  ffeture 

And  Also  of  Gret  rny^t. 

I,  2.  Lystyns,  lordynges  ...  A  conventional  minstrel 
address  to  his  audience.  Cf.  Sir  Eg/amour,  4,  5,  Sir  Isumbras,  4,  5, 
Octavian  (South,  vers.  20),  etc.  The  variant  forms  of  this  manner 
of  opening  a  story  are  illustrated  in  an  interesting  manner  by  Halli- 
well  (Thornton  Romances,  267—9),  w^°  c*tes  the  varying  opening 
lines  from  six  texts  of  Sir  Isumbras. 

3.  herdy  andwyght.  Stereotyped  expression.  Cf.  the  Syuyr 
ofLoive  Degre  (ed.  Mead),  9,  and  the  parallel  passages  cited  by  the 
editor  from  Kyng  Alisaunder,  4892;  Arthour  and  Merlin,  4532; 
Eglamour,  8  ;  Guy  of  Warwick,  B  1434  ;  Lancelot,  2592  ;  Eger 
and  Grime,  2573  j  Isumbras,  8.  Further  instances  are  not  hard  to 
find:  e.g.  Sir  Degrevant  (ed.  Halliwell),  10,  102,  and  the  present 
poem,  537. 


72 

4.  Vter  and  Pendragoiin.  In  the  romances  of  Merlin 
Vther  is  represented  as  being  the  younger  brother  of  Pendragon. 
The  E.  text  obviously  offers  the  correct  reading  here. 

6.  A  sembly  man  of  syght.   Cf.  'semely  on  to  see,' 
Erl  of  To/ous,   12175    'semly  were  to  see,'   Sir  humbras,    15. 
Cf.  present  poem,  27. 

7.  Sir  Clegys,   The  name  is  not  a  common  one.   It  is  used 
a  few  times  in  Malory's  Morte  &  Arthur.   The  name  Syr  Clegius 
(Schir  Clegis)  also  appears  in  the  Aiunturs  of  Arthur ,  96. 

9.  ronde-tabllll.  The  connection  of  this  story  with  the  Ar- 
thurian cycle,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  the  slightest.  The  story  of  Sir 
Cleges,  like  that  of  another  generous  Arthurian  knight,  Sir  Launfal, 
was  originally  quite  independent. 

10—12.  For  similar  conventional  descriptions  of  strength  see  Sir 
humbras,  13-15,  etc.,  The  Grene  Knight,  41,  etc. 

13.  curtas,  15.  gentyll  and  fre.  Cf.  Chaucer's  Knight, 

1 8.  gold  and  fe.  A  phrase  of  frequent  occurrence.  Cf.  Sir 
Isumbras,  270,  292,  Sir  Amadacey  849,  Syuyr  of  Lowe  Degret 
481.  Cf.  present  text,  437. 

2O.  bliske.  Prof.  J.  M.  Hart  suggests  that  the  word  buskehere 
js  used  transitively  in  the  sense  '  hasten  '  (cf.  N.  E.  D.  buske,  6)  and 
that  its  use  here  is  like  the  modern  colloquial  transitive  use  of  *  hustle,' 
an  interpretation  quite  in  keeping  with  the  amiable  character  of  the 
knight.  Cf.  E.  text : 

The  pore  pepull  he  wold  Releve 
And  no  man  wold  he  Greve. 

25.  wyff.  Cf.  description  of  a  noble  wife  in  Sir  Isumbras, 
25-30. 

38.  Crystynmes.  For  a  contemporary  account  of  Christmas 
festivities,  see  Sir  Gaivaync  and  the  Grene  Knight,  Sir  Perceval) 
1803,  stanzas  in,  xx,  xxi,  Berners-Froissart,  vol.  IV,  p.  150,  Book 
II,  Cap.  28.  For  contemporary  account  of  entertainment  for  the 
poor,  see  Clannesse,  77  ff. 

46,  49.  MynstrelluS.  See  note  by  Halliwell,  Thornton  Ro- 
mances, p.  270,  Sir  Degrevant,  8iff.,  1157,  1861,  Sir  Eglamour, 
1327,  Torrent  of  Party ngale,  941— 3,  Sir  Isumbras,  19-21,  Libeaus 
Disconus,  21 1 6,  Octavian  (South,  vers.),  67-72,  Sir  Thopat,  134. 


73 

Sec  also  Piers  Plowman  (ed.  Skeat),  Bxm,  225  ff.,  437  ff.,  C  vm, 
97  ff.,  C  x,  127-136  and  notes. 

57.  dy*ed  vpon  J?e  rode.  Cf.  Sir  Isumbras,  247,  286. 

66.  all-my^ht.  Note  the  riming  words,  quyte,  lyte,  showing 
that  the  %h  was  not  pronounced. 

73.  Hys  ryalty  he  forderyd  ay.  'His  munificence, 
he  continued  ever.'  In  N.  E.  D.  the  earliest  citation  of  *  royalty  ' 
with  this  meaning  is  1548.  £.  reads,  This  rialte  he  made  than 
Aye. 

79  ff.  At  this  point  this  story  differs  from  Sir  Amadace,  of  which 
the  beginning  is  strikingly  similar.  Sir  Amadace  is  advised  to  "  putte 
away  fulle  mony  of  ^our  men, ' '  but  prefers  to  conceal  his  straitened 
circumstances,  and  keeps  up  appearances  by  being  more  liberal  than 
ever,  37-60. 

85.  86.   Notice  the  rimes  cue,  ivyfe  (O.  E.  ?  :  O.  E.  £)  which 
indicate  a  pronunciation  of  the  sound  from  O.  E.  T  tending  toward 
the  modern  pronunciation.   Cf.  Note  to  219,  222,  225,  228. 

86.  E.  has:    The  kynge  be-thoutf  hym  full  E*vyn. 

87.  Cardyff.   Caerleon,  near  Cardiff,  is  the  more  usual  center 
in  Arthurian  story. 

89.  SWO  wny  ng.  Not  unusual  for  heroes  of  medieval  romance. 
See  Floris  and  Blauncheflur,  246,  etc. 

92.  And  he,  he  had  .  .  .  E.  offers  the  better  reading,  And 
ho<we  he  hade  his  maners  sold. 

94.  Mekyll.  Northern  dialect.  Cf.  also  107.  In  each  of  these 
cases  E.  has  the  Southern  form  mech. 

96.  pride,  wyde,  tyde,  syde.  These  rimes,  which  arc 
the  same  in  E. ,  are  sufficient  to  indicate  a  non-Southern  dialect. 

99.  dyuerse  mynstralsy.  Similar  lists  of  musical  instru- 
ments are  frequent.  Cf.  Sir  Launfal,  669,  Pearl,  91,  Squyr  of 
Lowe  Degre  (ed.  Mead),  1069  ff,  with  citations,  in  the  notes,  of 
similar  passages,  Rich.  Coer  de  L.  (ed.  Weber),  3429,  3430, 
4615-4619,  Emare,  388-390,  867,  Kyng  Alisaun der  (ed.  Weber), 
1041-1046,  Thomas  of  Erceld.  (Thornton),  vv.  257-260,  Libeaus 
Disconus  (ed.  Kaluza),  vv.  148-150,  Buke  of  the  Houlate  (ed. 
Diebler),  755-767.  Cf.  also  Sir  Dcgrevant  (ed.  Halliwell),  35  ff, 
and  note  by  the  editor  (p.  289)  in  which  is  quoted  the  following 
from  Lydgate  :  — 


74 

For  they  koude  the  practyke 
Of  al  maner  mynstralcye, 
That  any  mane  kane  specifye  5 
For  ther  wer  rotys  of  Almanye 
And  eke  of  Arragone  and  Spayne  : 
Songes,  stampes,  and  eke  daunces, 
Dyvers  plente  of  pleasaunces, 
And  many  unkouth  notys  newe 
Of  swich  folkys  as  lovde  trewe  ; 
And  instrumentys  that  dyde  excelle, 
Many  moo  thane  I  kane  telle. 
Harpys,  fythels,  and  eke  rotys, 
Wei  accordyng  with  her  notys, 
Lutys,  rubibis,  and  geterns, 
More  for  estatys  than  taverns  : 
Orguys,  cytolys,  monacordys; 
And  ther  wer  founde  noo  discordys 

Nor  variaunce  in  ther  souns, 

Nor  lak  of  noo  proporsiouns. 

1 01.   notys,  luttys  in  E. 

IO6,  107.  sore,  J?er.  E.  sore,  there.  The  apparently  imper- 
fect rime  seems  to  be  due  to  scribal  writing  of  per  for  original  pore. 
Cf.  the  rimes  of  the  sounds  concerned,  148,  149,  195,  198,  201, 
*°4,  363»  366,  369,  372,  442,  443,  469,  470,  447-454-  For 
another  possible  explanation,  see  148,  149  note. 

112.   won  to.   Cf.  ivonte  to,  E. 

1 13  ff.  Cf.  1 6  ff.,  37  ff.  For  similar  instances  of  generosity,  see 
Sir  Amadacc  (ed.  Robson),  stanzas  iv,  v,  and  xin,  xiv. 

119.   longes.  Northern  conjugation. 

122  ff.  The  passage  that  follows  is  probably  as  fine  a  domestic 
scene  as  any  in  Middle  English  metrical  romance.  Dame  Clarys  chal- 
lenges comparison  with  Le  Freine,  Constance,  the  faithful  wife  in 
The  Pennyworth  of  Wit^  or  even  with  Griselda.  She  is  the  most 
human  of  them  all.  The  only  scene  rivaling  the  present  one,  that 
occurs  to  me,  is  the  one  at  the  end  of  Amh  and  Amiloun  (ed. 
Kolbing),  2413—24. 

129.   Stynte.  This  rime,  which  occurs  in  both  texts,  indicates 


75 

that  in  the  dialect  of  the  author  O.  £.  y  sometimes  at  least  appears 
as  e.  Cf.  Morsbach,  Mittelenglitche  Grammatik,  §§  izyff. 

148,  149.  care,  mour.  This  rime  shows  the  Northern,  or 
Scotch,  dialect  of  this  version.  The  E.  version  in  these  lines 
seems  better  to  preserve  the  original,  *  But  neuer-pe-les  hys  hart  was 
sore.'  Cf.  106,  107,  note.  *  And  sche  hym  Comforttyd  more  and 
more. ' 

151,  152.  blyth,  blyue.  E.  has  the  better  reading,  blyth, 
twyth. 

154.  wesche  and  went  to  mete.  Equivalent  expressions 
are  frequent.  Cf.  Sir  Degree  ant  (ed.  Halliwell),  662,  1392,  and  the 
editor's  references  to  Emare,  218,  Sir  Gawayne  (ed.  Madden),  p. 
34.  Cf.  also  P.  Plowman,  B  xm,  28,  C  xvi,  32.  'Thei  wesshen 
and  wypeden  and  wenten  to  the  dyner.  * 

Z6l.  euensong.  Vesper  services  that  marked  the  close  of  the 
day  (E.  soper).  Cf.  P.  Plowman,  C  vn,  396,  where  Gloton  and 
his  companions  sit  in  the  ale-house  l  til  euesong  rang.* 

1 60,  z6z.  dyde,  bede  (E.  ded,  bede).   Cf.  129  note. 

162.  serteyn.  Cf.  sertayne,  Ludus  Coventriae  (ed.  Halliwell) 
p.  53.  I  have  been  unable  to  make  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  this 
word.  The  reading  in  E.  is  clear,  Whan  yt  wat  tyme  of  ny$t. 

z63.  rong  at  }>e  chyrche.  Reference  to  the  bell  summon- 
ing to  matins.  In  Piers  Plowman,  C  x,  227  ff.,  we  read  that  both 
lewede  and  lordcs  ought  — 

Vp-on  Sonedayes  to  cesse  (daily  occupations)  .  godes  scruyce  to 

huyre. 

Bothe  matyns  and  messe  .  and  after  mete,  in  churches 
To  huyre  here  euesong  .  euery  man  ouhte. 
Thus  it  by-longeth  for  lorde,  .  for  lered,  and  lewede, 
Eche  halyday  to  huyre  .  hollyche  the  seruice. 

See  also  Sir  Degre-vant  (ed.  Halliwell)  :  — 

Tylle  the  day  wex  clere, 

Undurne  and  mare  j 
Whyle  that  hurde  thei  a  bell 

Ryng  in  a  chapell  j 
To  chyrche  the  gay  dammisel 

Buskede  hyr  jare.    (11.619-624.) 


76 

With  an  orrelegge  one  hyjth 
To  rynge  the  ours  at  ny^th 
To  waken  Myldore  the  bry^th 

With  bellus  to  knylle.    (11.  1452-1456.) 

1 66-8.   Not  in  E. 

1 80.   E.  has  And  put  Away  fend. 

l8l— 2.   Assonance.   E.  has  cam,  than, 

183.  stynt,  wente.  Cf.  129  note,  160  note. 

Ipl.  pouerte,  hert  (E.  pouertt,  hartt).  The  accentuation 
of  pouerte  varies.  That  the  accentuation  indicated  by  the  present 
rime  is  not  exceptional  is  shown  by  the  identical  rime  in  Sir  Laun- 
fal,  herte,  poverty  scherte,  smertc,  ed.  Ritson,  195  ff.  But  see  in 
the  present  text,  pouerte,  252,  riming  with  jorneye,  fre,  sche. 

194.   chery-tre,  see  Introduction,  p.  Ixvi. 

210.  Spare  wold  he  nought.  Similar  verse  tags  are  fre- 
quent. Cf.  'for  no  cost  wolde  he  spare,'  Chaucer's  Prologue,  192. 
*  For  nothyng  wolde  he  spare,'  Sir  Eg/amour  (ed.  Halliwell),  552. 

223-5.  These  lines,  so  well  in  keeping  with  the  character  of 
Dame  Clarys,  are  not  in  E. 

219,  222,  225,  228.  The  rimes,  O.  E.  -foe,  O.  E.  neat, 
O.  F.  -te,  seem  to  indicate  a  fifteenth-century  origin  for  the  poem. 
The  rimes  in  E.  are  similar :  sekerly,  me,  treivly. 

226,  227.  mour,  J>er-fore.  (Not  in  E.)  The  rimes  here 
indicate  a  pronunciation  different  from  that  indicated  in  148,  149. 
See  also  106,  107  note. 

232.  dey  do  spryng.  Cf.  Chaucer's  Prologue,  822,  Torrent 
of  Portugal  (ed.  Halliwell),  362,  etc. 

241.  dey-lyght.  The  reference  to  early  rising  is  not  unusual. 
See  King  Horn  (E.  E.  T.  S.),  527,  Sir  Eg/amour  (ed.  Halli- 
well), 359- 

248.  SO  seyth  f  e  boke.  A  frequent  verse  tag.  Not  neces- 
sarily a  reference  to  a  literary  original. 

252.   E.  has  the  better  reading,  As  A  man  in  pouerte. 

25S«  CrystenmeS  dey.  The  chronology  in  this  story  offers 
difficulty.  The  incidents  of  Christmas  eve,  85—162,  and  of  Christ- 
mas day,  163—240,  have  already  been  narrated.  The  day  of  the 
journey  to  Cardiff  should  be  the  day  after  Christmas. 

258.  At  none.   Since  E.  has  Anon,  too  much  weight  must 


77 

not  be  laid  on  the  evidence  of  this  passage  regarding  meal-times. 
Whether  none  had  its  earlier  reference  to  3  p.  M.,  or  its  later  one 
to  12  M.,  it  can  hardly  be  assumed  to  have  been  a  time  for  the 
principal  meal.  The  fact  that  this  was  Christmas  day  may  have 
some  bearing  on  the  subject.  Cf.  Piers  Ploivman  (ed.  Skeat), 
vol.  n,  p.  112.  Cf.  Dame  Siriz,  324  note. 

262.  portere.  There  seems  to  be  personal  animus  in  the  way 
the  porter  is  represented.   The  minstrel  was  well  accustomed  to  ill 
treatment  from  the  porters,  and  the  surly  porter  appears  frequently 
in  minstrel   story.   Cf.  King  Horn,  H55ff.   See   note  by  Creek, 
jf.  G.  Phil,  x,  436,  and  references  to  John  de  Reeue,  719  ff., 
Home  Childe,  958  ff.,  etc.    For  instances  where  the  porter  loses  his 
life,  see  Child,  Engl.  and  Scot.   Pop.  Ballads,  no.  119,  note  in, 
Part  i,  p.  95  note. 

263.  Thow.   The  distinction  between  the  contemptuous  singu- 
lar and  the  respectful  plural  is  well  illustrated  in  the  language  of  the 
servants  to  Cleges  and  in  his  replies. 

265.  be  God.  Notice  the  number  of  oaths  used  by  the  porter 
and  the  other  servants.  Cf.  283,  285,  313,  340,  345. 

267.  begers  route.  Cf.  King  Horn,  1159  ff.,  Piers  Plow- 
man, B  xii,  198  ff,  C  xv,  138  ff. 

*  *  Ich  haue  mete  more  than  ynough  •  acnou^t  so  moche  worship 
As  tho  that  seten  atte  syde-table  •  or  with  the  souereignes  of  the 

halle 
But  sitte  as  a  begger  bordelees  •  bi  my-self  on  the  grounde." 

286.  thyrd  parte.  The  artificiality  of  this  feature  of  the  pres- 
ent version  is  apparent.  The  same  applies  to  v.  317  and  v.  346. 

293.  officers.  The  French  word  here  has  the  French  nom- 
inative ending.  E.  vsschere.  Cf.  310. 

3IO,  311.  The  rimes  -fy  (O.  E.  lice),  sey  (O.  E.  scati),  in- 
dicate the  beginning  of  the  opening  in  the  pronunciation  ofO.E.  T. 
Cf.  315,  318,  and  219-28  note. 

319.  wone  (E.  von).  Apparently  from  O.  N.  van.  Cf.  The 
Erl  of  Tolous,  1134.  Cited  by  Emerson,  M.  E.  Reader,  p.  113, 

1.    12. 

348.  Ollte.  E.  reads,  Ar  forthere  gost  pu  nott,  which  affords 
better  rime. 


78 

352,  353-  gete,  mete.  The  rime,  with  long  vowel,  is  his- 
torically correct.  O.  E.  mete,  O.  N.  geta. 

363  if.  sore,  more,  be-for.  Cf.  106,  107  note,  148,  149 
note. 

364,  365.  rewerd,  parte  (E.  Reward,  part).  Imperfect 
rime?  Cf.  511,  512. 

367-9.   Not  in  E. 

370.  E.  has,  Vpe  to  the  Jesse  (dais)  sir  Cleges  went,  affording  a 
better  idea  of  the  situation  in  the  hall. 

376  ff.  The  pious  tone  here  and  elsewhere  is  hardly  in  keeping 
with  the  nature  of  the  anecdote. 

382,  383.   Assonance.  So  in  E. 

386  ff.  The  author  shows  familiarity  with  the  story  of  the  love 
between  Vther  and  Ygerne,  wife  of  the  Duke  of  Tintagel  in  Corn- 
wall. 

399.   hym.  E.  has  the  better  reading,  no*we. 

406.  E.  reads,  To  the  kyng  he  spake  full  styllt  which  affords  bet- 
ter rime  and  better  meaning. 

418-20.  Not  in  E. 

418,  424.  lond  our  lede.  The  stanzas  are  frequently  linked 
together  by  a  form  of  echo,  or  of  incremental  repetition.  Cf.  46- 
49,  59-61,  68-74,  i*9-!33,  188-193,  204-205,  324-325, 
333-339,  464-473,  etc. 

432.  Charyte.  Charity  is  personified  as  a  saint.  See  Sir 
Isumbras,  152,  and  note  by  Halliwell  in  which  are  cited  instances  of 
similar  use  in  Spenser  and  in  Shakespeare  (Hamlet,  iv.  5). 

437.   had  be  better  :  E.  haddyst  be  better. 

461.  SOre  Strokes.  Cf.  Sir  Eg/amour  (ed.  Halliwell),  47, 
'  So  sore  strokes  he  them  gaue. ' 

474.  ryde  ne  go,  'ride  or  walk/  Cf.  Sir  Immbras  (ed. 
Halliwell),  56,  *  I  maye  bothe  ryde  and  goo.' 

479.  The  minstrel's  limited  range  of  expression  is  evident. 

481.  parlere.  The  author  of  Piers  Ploivman  (B  x,  93-99) 
deplores  the  desertion  of  the  hall  for  private  rooms :  — 

Elyng  is  the  halle  •  vche  daye  in  the  wyke, 
There  the  lord  ne  the  lady  •  liketh  nou^te  to  sytte 
Now  hath  vche  riche  a  reule  •  to  eten  bi  hym-selue 


79 

In  a  pryue  parloure  •  for  pore  mennes  sake, 

Or  in  a  chambre  with  a  chymneye  •  and  leue  the  chief  halle, 

That  was  made  for  meles  •  men  to  eten  inne  j 

484  ff.  The  E.  text  at  this  point  differs  in  certain  important 
details  and  seems  to  preserve  better  the  original  story. 

An  harpor  sange  A  gest  he  mowth 
Of  a  knyght  there  be  sowth  j 

Hym-selffe  werament. 
Than  seyd  the  kynge  to  J?e  harpor : 
"  Were  ys  knyjt  Cleges,  tell  me  herr* 

For  J?u  hast  wyde  I-went. 
Tell  me  Trewth  yf  pu  Can, 
Knowyste  pu  of  ptf  t  man  ?  ' ' 

The  harpor  seyd,  "  Yee,  I-wysse." 

"  Sum  tyme  for  soth  I  hym  knewe  ; 
He  was  A  kny^t  of  youris  full  trewe. 

And  Comly  of  Gesture. 
We  mynstrellys  mysse  hym  sekyrly, 
Seth  he  went  out  of  Cunta? : 

He  was  fayre  of  stature." 
The  kynge  seyd,  "  be  myn<?  hede  ! 
I  trowe  Jwt  s/r  Cleges  be  dede, 

That  I  lovyd  peramore  : 
Wold  god  he  were  A-lyfe! 
I  hade  hym  lever*  than  othyr  v. 

For  he  was  stronge  in  stowre." 

503.  had  hym  leuer.  Had  is  used  in  the  sense  <  hold,' 
*  regard.' 

524-6.  E.  reads: 

"  Hast  Jm,"  he  seyd,  "  thy  Reward  ?  " 
"  Be  Cryst,  he  ys  to  lowe! " 
The  styward  seyd  w/t>4  lok  Grym. 

527)  S^S.  E.  is  imperfect  here.  The  deivle  hym  born  on  A 
hive,  and  the  lines  of  the  present  text  seem  like  awkward  im- 
promptu. 


8o 

544.  E.  ends  with  this  line,  and  Weber,  not  knowing  of  the 
existence  of  the  O.  manuscript,  supplies  the  following  not  unsuitable 
conclusion  : 

With  many  other  yeftes  moo, 

Miri  to  lyue  and  blyth. 
The  knyght  rode  to  dame  Clarys  his  wyue, 
Faire[r]  ladie  was  non  olyue  j 

He  schewyd  his  yeftes  swyth. 
Now  to  Mari  that  hende  may, 
For  all  your  sowlys  Y  her  pray 
That  to  my  talys  lythe. 

554.  coler.  "The  investiture  by  a  collar  and  a  pair  of  spurs 
was  the  creation  of  an  esquire  in  the  middle  ages  :  " —  Fairholt,  Cos- 
tume in  England  (ed.  Dillon),  n,  127,  thus  quoted  by  W.  E.  Mead 
in  his  edition  of  The  Squyr  of  Lowe  Degre,  p.  47.  Cf.  Way's  exc. 
note  to  Prompt.  Par-vu/.  s.  v.  Coller,  p.  87. 


I.     DISCUSSION  OF  FABLIAUX 

J.  BEDIER,  Les  Fabliaux,  2«  ed.    Paris,  1895. 

J.  BEDIER,  article  in  the  Petit  de  Julleville  Histoirc  de  la  Langue 

et  dt  la  Litter  ature  franqaise,  vol.  u. 

J.  V.  LE  CLERC,  Histoire  litteraire  de  la  France,  vol.  xxiu. 
F.  BRUNETIERE,  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  Sept.,  1893. 
O.  PILZ,  Die  Bedeutung  des  Wortes  Fable/.    Stettin,  1889. 

B.  TEN  BRINK,  Geschichte  der  englischen  Litter  atur,  i,  221,  224, 
234,  318,  323,  n,  130,  136,  153,  159,  167,  170,  179,  621. 

J.  J.  JUSSERAND,  A  Literary  History  of  the  English  People,  I,  1 1 8, 

152,  183,  184,  225,  325,  442,  447,  496,  498. 
H.  MORLEY,   English  Writers,  in,  336,  378. 
W.  H.  SCHOFIELD,  English  Literature  from  the  Norman  Conquest  to 

Chaucer,  118,  323-316,  338,  348,  479. 
WARD  and  WALLER,  Cambridge  History  of  English  Literature,  vol. 

i,  ch.  xvii. 
W.  M.   HART,   The  Reeve's   Tale.     Pub/.  M.    L.  A.  America, 

xxin,  1-44. 
W.    M.    HART,     The   Fabliau    and   Popular    Literature.    Pub/. 

M.  L.  A.  America,  xxin,  329-374. 
H.  S.  CANBY,  The  English  Fabliau.   Pub/.  M.  L.  A.  America,  xxi, 

pp.  200-214. 

C.  FROMENTIN,  Essai  sur  les  Fabliaux  Fran$ais  du  XII'  et  du 
XI He  Siecle.    Saint-£tienne,  1877. 

F.  HERRMANN,  Schilderung  und  Beurtheilung  der  Gesellschaftlichen 
Verh&ltnhse  Frankreichs  in  der  Fabliaudichtung  des  XII  und 
XIII  yahrhunderts,  diss.  Coburg,  1900. 

II.   COLLECTIONS  OF  FABLIAUX  AND  OF  STORIES 
USED  IN  FABLIAUX 

BARBAZAN,  Fabliaux  et  Contes  .    .   .   des  XII*,   XIII',    XIV* 

et  XV*  Siecles  ...    3  vols.     Paris,  1756. 
LEGRAND,  Fabliaux  ou  Contes  du  XII*  et  du  XIII*  Siecle  ...  4 

vols.    Paris,  1779. 


82 

BARBAZAN-MEON,  Fabliaux  et  Contcs  franqais    des  XI* ,    XII*t 

XIII',  XIV*  et  XV'  Siecles,  nouvelle  edition  ...   4  vols. 

Paris,  1808. 
M.  MEON,  Nouveau  Recueil  de  Fabliaux  et  Contes  ...   a  vols. 

Paris,  1823. 
JUBINAL,  Nouveau  Recueil  de  Contes,  Ditst  Fabliaux  ...   2  vols. 

Paris,  1839-42. 
A.  DEMoNTAiGLON  and  G.  RAYNAUD,  Recueil  general  et  complet  des 

Fabliaux  des  XIII'  et  XIV'  Siecles,  6  vols.    Paris,  1872-1890. 
F.  H.  VON  DER  HAGEN,  Gesammtabenteuer.    1850. 

{.  PAULI,  Schimpfund  Ernst,  hrgb.  v.  H.  Osterley.     1 8 66. 
.  ULRICH,   Proben  der    lateinischen  No'vellistik  des  Mittelalters. 

Leipzig,  1906. 

T.  WRIGHT,  Latin  Stories  (Percy  Soc.).    London,  1842. 
NICOLE  BOZON,  Les  Contes  Moralises,  ed.  by  L.  T.  Smith  and  P. 

Meyer.    Paris,  1889. 

JACQUES  DE  VITRY,  Exempla,  ed.  by  T.  F.  Crane.  London,  1890. 
£TIENNE  DE  BOURBON,  Anecdotes  historiques,  Legendes  et  Apologues 
tires    .   .   .  par  A.  Lecoy  de  La  Marche  (Soc.  de  /' Histoire  de 
France).    1877. 

PETRUS  ALPHONSUS,  Disciplina  Clericalis  (Soc.  des  Biblioph.franf. 
Melanges).    Paris,  1825. 

Another  ed.  by  F.  W.  Val  Schmidt.    Berlin,  1827. 
Cf.  V.  Chauvin,  Bibliographic  des  Outrages  arabes,  ix,  pp. 
1—44.    Liege  and  Leipzig,  1905. 

Le  Chastoiement  d'un  Pere  a  son  Fits,  publ.  by  Soc.  des  Bibliophilest 
Paris,  1825,  and  by  M.  Roesle,  Munich,  1899. 

Another  shorter  French  metrical  version  is  published  in  the 
Barbazan-Meon  collection. 

Gesta  Romanorum,  ed.  Keller.   Stuttgart,  1 8425  ed.  Osterley.  Ber- 
lin, 1871. 

(English),  ed.  Heritage  (E.  E.  T.  S.).    London,  1879. 
Le  Violier  des  Histoires  Romaines,  ed.  M.  G.  Brunet.    Paris,  1858. 
K.  CAMPBELL,  The  Seven  Sages  (English).    Boston,  1907. 

For  bibliography  of  The  Seven  Sages  see  L.  Chauvin,  Biblio- 
graphic des  Ou-vrages  arabes,  vol.  vm,  entire  volume.  Liege  and 
Leipzig,  1897. 

Cf.  also  Catalogue  of  Romances  in  British  Museum,  vol.  HI, 
byj.  A.  Herbert.  London,  1910. 


83 


III.    DAME  SIRIZ 


I.    Edition:  of  Dame  Sirix 

I.  WRIGHT,  Anecdota  Literaria,  pp.  1—13.    London,  1844. 
E.  MATZNER,  Altenglische  Sprachproben,  i,   pp.    105—13,    with 
an  excellent  introduction,  pp.  103—4.    Berlin,  1867. 

1.  Besides  the  'works  containing  a  general  discussion  of  fabliaux  there 
remain  to  be  mentioned  the  following  'works  dealing  especially 
'with  the  "Dame  Siriz." 
.  ELSNER,  Untersuchungen  zudem  mittclenglischcn  Fabliau  tfDame 

s.    Berlin,  1887. 
VtAjo    W.  HEUSER,  Das  Interludium  (De  Clerico  et  PuellaJ  Anglia,  xxx, 

306-19. 
j  *  3.    Versions  of  the  Weeping  Bitch  Story 

Kathd  Sarit  Sagara,  transl.   by   C.  H.  Tawney,  vol.   I,  pp.  85- 

91.    Calcutta,  1880. 
(jukasaptati  (textus  simplicior),  transl.  into  German  by  R.  Schmidt, 

pp.  9,  10.    Kiel,  1894. 
fukasaptati  (textus  ornatior),  transl.  into  German  by  R.  Schmidt. 

Stuttgart,   1899. 
The  Book  of  Sindibad  (Oriental  form  of  the  Seven  Sages}. 

Syriac  version.  Sindban  and  the  Seven  Wite  Masters,  transl. 
by  H.  Gollancz,  Folk-  Lore,  vm,  113  ff. 

Greek  version.  Syntipas,  critical  ed.  by  Eberhard,  Fabulae  ro- 
manenses  graece  conscriptae,it  39.  Leipzig,  1879.  Summarized 
by  Loiseleur-Deslongchamps,  Sur  les  Fables  indiennes,  pp.  106-9. 
Paris,  1838. 

Persian  version.  Syndibad  Nama,  analysis  by  Prof.  F.  Falconer 
in  Clouston's  Book  of  Sindibad,  p.  61.  London,  1884. 

Hebrew  version.  Mischle  Sindbad,  transl.  by  P.  Cassel,  pp. 
268-71.  Berlin,  1888. 

Arabic  version.  The  Seven  Vatiirs,  transl.  by  J.  Scott  in 
Clouston's  Book  of  Sindibad,  pp.  162  ff. 

For  reference  to  other  Arabic  versions  see  Eisner,  op.  cit.,  p.  8. 
Spanish  version.   Coote's  translation  of  comparative  text  of  the 
Libra  de  hi  Enganos. 


84 

Discipline!  Clericalis,  cf.  references  to  editions  above,  no.  xi. 

French  prose  translation  (i  5th  cent. )  of  the  Disciplina  Cleri- 
calis  (Soc.  des  Bibliophiles).  Paris,  1825. 

Spanish  translation  from  the  Disciplina  Clerically  El  libra  de 
los  Enxemplos  (Bibl.  autores  espanoles,  LI,  p.  505). 

Icelandic  translation  from  the  Disciplina  Clericalis,  ed.  by  H. 
Gering,  Idendzk  aeventyri,  i,  181.  Halle,  1882. 

English  translation  of  the  Disciplina  Clericalis  in  an  unpub- 
lished manuscript  of  the  Worcester  cathedral  library.  A  rotogra- 
phic  copy  of  this  manuscript  is  in  the  library  of  the  Western  Re- 
serve University. 

French  metrical  versions  of  the  Disciplina,  see  references  above 
to  versions  of  Le  Chastoiement  dyun  Pere  a  son  Fils. 
STEINHOWEL,  Asop,  ed.  Osterly  (Bibl.  d.  lit.  Ver.  Stuttg.  1843), 
section  Ex  Adelfonio,  no.  1 1 . 

The  story  is  also  included  in  the  Italian  fable  collection  by 
Tuppo,  1485,  the  French   collection  by  Machaut,  circa  1483, 
the  Spanish  Tsopo,  1496,  the  Dutch  Esopus,  1486,  and  the  Eng- 
lish edition  by  Caxton,  1484  (ed.  Jacobs,  1889). 
Gesta  Romanorum,   see  references  above.   The  Dame  Siri*   story 

does  not  appear  in  the  English  version. 

ALEXANDER  DE  HALES,  Destructorium  vitiorum,  in,  X  c.  Colon, 
1485.  Ref.  from  Eisner. 

Another  edition.   Pars  tertia,  capitulum  10,  fol.  ci,  b.  Lutetiae, 
1516. 
GOTSCALDUS  HOLLEN,  Prectptorium  novum  et  perutih,   etc.,   fol. 

cxcv,  c.    Colon,  1484. 
NICOLAS  DE  TROYS,  Le  Grand  Parangon  des  Noirvelles  Nou-velles, 

n,  fol.  xxix,  b.   Ref.  from  Eisner. 
P.  GRINGOIRE,  Les  Fantaisies  de  Mere  Sotte.   (Ms.  in  Bibl.  Nat.  at 

Paris. )   Ref.  from  Eisner. 
H.  SACHS,  Das  ivainent  Huentlein.    (Elf  Fastnachtspiele  aus  den 

Jahren  1553-1554,  hrgb.  v.  E.  Goetze.    Halle,  1884.) 
IOANNES  GOBII,  Scala  celt,  1480. 

VINCENTIUS  BELLOVACENSIS,  Bibliotheca  Mundi,  Section  in,  Spe- 
culum Morale,  Lib.  m,  Dist.  vi,  Pars  ix,  p.  1325,  edition  of 
1624  (Brit.  Mus.  Libr.). 

Late  Latin  version  publ.  by  A.  Tobler,  Zf.  f.  rom.  Phil,  x, 
476-80. 


85 

JOH.  HEROLT,  Discipulus  redi'vi-vus  seu  Sermones  discipuli,  Section  iv, 
Promptuarium  Exemplorum,  no.  599.  Augustae  Vindelicorum, 
1728. 

NICOLE  BOZON,  Les  Contes  moralises,  ed.  by  L.  T.  Smith  and  P. 
Meyer  (Soc.  des  anc.  Textes  fran$C),  1889,  no.  138. 

L.  DESMOULINS,  Catholicon  des  mal  advise*  (ed.  J.  Petit  et  M.  Le 
Noir,  1513,  fol.  Diiij).  Ref.  from  ed.  of  N.  Bozon. 

JACOJJES  DE  VITRY,  Exempla,  CCL.  See  ref.  above. 

The  same  version  is  included  in  Wright's^  Selection  of  Latin 
Stories  from  Manuscripts  of  the  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Cent- 
uries (Percy  Soc.  8).  London,  1842. 

Metrical  Tales  of  Adolfus,  ed.  T.  Wright  (Percy  Soc.  8),  Fabula 
v.  London,  1842.  (Reprinted  from  Leyser,  Historia  Poetarum 
Medii  Ae'vi  1721,  p.  2015  ff. ,  cf.  Matzner,  loc.  «'/.) 

CHRISTIERN  HANSEN,  Komedier,  ed.  S.  Birket  Smith,  p.  60.  Ref. 
from  Eisner.  Kjobenhavn,  1874. 

Prose  paraphrase  in  Le  Grand  d'Aussy's  Fabliaux  ou  Contes, 
iv,  50-3.  Paris,  1829. 

IV.     THE  VOX  AND   THE  WOLF 

I.  Discussion  of  beast  tales 

J.  GRIMM,  Reinhart  Fuchs.    Berlin,  1834. 

W.  J.  THOMS,  The  History  of  Reynard  the  Fox,  reprint  of  Caxton  } 

edition   with  discussion  of  the   history  of  the  story  collection/ 

(Percy  Soc.  12).    London,  1844. 
PAULIN  PARIS,  Les  Adventures  de  Maitre  Renard  et  d*  Tsengrin,  son 

compere ,  suivies  de  nouvelles  recherches  sur  le  Roman  de  Renart. 

Paris,  1 86 1. 

K.  KROHN,  Bar  (Wolf)  und  Fuchs.    Helsingfors,  1888. 
K.  KROHN,  Mann  und  Fuchs :  drei  vergleichende  Marchenstudien. 

Helsingfors,  1891. 

FAURIEL,  Roman  de  Renard,  Hi  stoire  litter  air  e  de  la  France,  vol.  22. 
POTVIN,  Le  Roman  du  Renard,  mis  en  •vers,  precede  d'une  intro- 
duction et  d'une  bibliographic.    Paris  and  Brussels,  1861. 
C.  VORETZSCH,  Der  Reinhart  Fuchs  Heinrichs  des  Glichezaren  und 

der  Roman  de  Renart,  Zt.  f.  rom.  Phil.,  xv,  124-182,  344- 

374,  xvi,  1-39.  See  especially  p.  361. 


86 

H.  BUTTNER,  Studien  xu  dem  Roman  de  Renart  und  dem  Reinhart 

Fucks.    Strasburg,  1891. 
ROTHE,  Les  Romans  du  Renard  examines,  analyses    et  compares. 

Paris,  1845. 

JONCKBLOET,  fctude  sur  le  Roman  du  Renart.    Groningen,  1863. 
LEONARD  WILLEMS,  Etude  sur  FYsengrinus.    Ghent,  1895. 
G.  PARIS,  Le  Roman  de  Renard.    Paris,  1895. 
REISSENBERGER,  Reinhart  Fuchs.   Halle,  1886. 
M.  DE  GUBERNATIS,  La  Mythologic  Koologiquc,  vol.  II. 
J.  JACOBS,  The  Fables  of  Aesop.    Vol.  i,  History  of  the  Aesopic 

Fable.    Vol.  n,  Text  and  Glossary.    London,  1889. 

For  additional  bibliographical  references  see  V.  Chauvin,  op.  c\t. , 

n,  pp.  1 64  ff. 

2.   Editions  of  collections  of  beast  stories 

MEON,  Le  Roman  du  Renard  public  d^apres  les  Manuscrits  de  la  Biblio- 
theque  du  Rot  des  xiiif,  xiw,  et  x<v'  Siecles,  4  vols.    Paris,  1825. 
CHABAILLE,  Supplements,  Variantes  et  Corrections.    Paris,  1835. 

E.  MARTIN,  Le  Roman  de  Renart,  3  vols.    Paris,  1882—87. 

F.  WOLF,  Renart  le  Contrefait,  nach  der  Handschrift  der  K.  K.  Hof- 
bibliothek.    Vienna,  1861. 

HOUDOY,  Renart-le-Nou'vel.    Lille,  1874. 

Ecbasis  cujusdam  captivi,  Lat.  poem  of  nth  cent.  ed.  by  W.  J. 
Thorns  (Percy  Soc.  12),  18445  et*-  ^"  Voigt,  S^uellen  und 
Forschungcn,no.\iu.  Strassburg,  1875. 

Ysengrimus,  ed.  by  E.  Voigt,  1884. 

H.  DER  GLICHEZARE,  Reinhart  Fuchs,  ed.  Grimm.    Berlin,  1834. 

Reinaert,  transl.  from  Flemish  into  French  by  O.  Delapierre. 
Brussels,  1857. 

Reineke  der  Fuchs  (Volksbuch).    Leipzig,  i84o(?). 

GOETHE,  Reinecke  Fuchs,  xi,  vv.  97-131. 

English  versions  of  Renard  the  Fox  :  i)  ed.  Thorns  (Percy  Soc.  12), 
18445  2)  ed.  Arber,  1878  j  3)  ed.  Goldsmid,  1884;  4)  mod- 
ernized version  by  H.  Morley  (Carisbrooke  Library,  iv),  1889. 

J.JACOBS,  see  above. 

L.  HERVIEUX,  Les  Fabulistes  Latins  depuis  le  Sieclc  d* Augusts 
jusqu'a  la  Fin  du  Moyen  Age.  1st  ed.  Paris,  1884  ;  2d  ed.  1893. 


87 

3.  Editions  of  Vox  and  Wolf 

I.   WRIGHT  AND  HALLIWELL,  Re/.  Antiyuaet  n,  aya. 
a.   Percy  Soc.  vm,  1843. 

3.  W.  C.  HAZLITT,  Early  Popular  Poetry ,  i,  58  f.  1864. 

4.  MATZNER,  Altengl.  Sprachpr.yi,  130. 

4.  Analogues 
a.  Oriental 

I.  Arabic,  u  Le  renard  et  la  hyene,"  MEIDANI,  Proverbes  (6) , 
t.  n,  p.  7.  V.  CHAUVIN,  !?/'£/.  </«  Ouvrages  arabes,  in,  p.  78, 
cites  Maidani,  Arabum  proverbiat  u,  p.  335,  no.  64,  ed.  Freytag. 
Bonn,  1837. 

a.  Hebrew,  A.  BLUMENTHAL,  Rabbi  Meiry  p.  100,  also  101  ff. 
Frankfurt,  1888. 

3.  Hebrew,  J.  LANDSBERGER,  Die  Fabeln  des  SopAos,  no.   10. 
Posen,  1859. 

4.  Indian,  Pantchatantra^  i,  8}  Hitapodesa,  n,  11}  Kirchhof't 
Wendunmuth,  7,  26. 

5.  Indian,  Panic hatantra,  n,  aa6. 

6.  Mod.  Indian,  M.  FRERE,  Old  Deccan  Days.    London,  1 868. 

b.  Versions  related  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  "Roman  de  Renard  *' 
Reinecke  der  Fuchsy  Volksbuch.    Leipzig,  1840. 
J.  LASSBERG,  Lieder  Saal,  n,  no.  93.    Eppishausen,  i8ao. 
GRIMM,  Reinhart  Fuchs,  pp.  356-8.    Berlin,  1834. 
^JOHN  OF  SHEPPEY,  see  Hervieux,  op.  «V.,  in,  441. 
^ODO  OF  SHERINGTON,  see  Hervieux,  op.  cit. ,  in,  327. 

Italian  fable,  publ.  by  K.  McKenzie,  Publ.  M.  L.  A.  Amer., 
xxi,  226  ff. 

Libra  de  los  Gatos,  no.  14  (Bibl.  autores  espaftoles,  LI.). 
N.  BOZON,  Contes  Moralises,  no.  128. 

^For  bibliography  of  the  Disciplina   Clericalis  and  its  transla- 
tions, see  references  above. 

c.  Versions  related  to  that  in  the  *  *  Disciplina  Clericalis  ' ' 
G.  WRIGHT,  The  Principles  of  Grammar.    London,  1794. 
B.  WALDIS,  Esopust  ed.  by  H.  Kurz.    Leipzig,  1862. 


88  liBtbitograpIji? 

HANS  SACHS,  Fabeln,  ed.  Goetze.    Frankfort,  1888. 

R.  HENRYSON,  Poems  and  Fables,  ed.  by  D.  Laing,  pp.  193—202. 

Edinburgh,  1865.    And  Anglia,  ix,  p.  470. 
LA  FONTAINE,  Book  xi,  Fable  6. 
..  MARIE  DE  FRANCE,  Le  Grand  d'Aussy,  Fabliaux  ou   Contes,  iv, 

P-  396- 

F.  J.  DESBILLONS,  Fabulae  Aesopiae,  5th  ed.,  Book  8,  Fable  24. 
Paris,  1769. 

GELBHAUS,   Ueber  Stojfe  altdeutscher  Poesie,    p.  39.    Berlin,  1886. 
El  libra  de  los  Exemplos,  no.  cccvu.    Bibl,  autores  espanoles,  LI. 

p.  520. 

For  editions  of  this  story  in  fable  collections  see  Steinhowel  in 

bibliography  of  Dame  Siriz. 

d.  Other  versions 

VERDIZOTTI,  Cento  Favole.   Venetia,  1570. 
SAN  BERNARDINO  DA  SIENA,  Nouvelette  Esempi  Morali  e  Apolo- 

ghi,  p.   15,  Racconto  vi.    Bologna,  1868. 
Fable  Collection,  publ.  by  J.  Baechtold,  Germania,  xxxm,  257. 

G.  K.  PFEFFEL,  Fabeln,  4,  88. 

JACOJJES  REGNIER,  Apologi  Phaedrii^  Pars  i,  Fab.  48. 

Other  fables  'with  beasts,  usually  fox  and  wolf,  in  a  well 
L.  ABSTEMIUS,  Hecatomythion  secundum,  no.  15. 
L.  ABSTEMIUS,  Hecatomythion,  no.  41. 
G.  FAERNO,  Centum  Fabulae,  p.  49.   London,  1672. 
R.  L'ESTRANGE,  Fables  of  Aesop  .  .  .  Fab.  410.    London,  1692. 
S.    CROXALL,    Fables    of  Aesop   and   others,   no.    1 66.     Boston, 

1863. 
Fables  Turques,  transl.    into  French  by  J.-A.    Decourdemanche, 

no.  31. 

T.  BEWICK,  Fables,  1818. 
LENOBLE,  CEu>vres,yii\,  515. 

CARL  MOUTON,  Esope-Esopus,  no.  95.   Hamburg,  1750. 
Fables  of  Aesop ,  no.  8.    New  York,  1862. 

e.  Folk-tale  versions 

French  (Bas-Languedoc).   P.  REDONNEL,  Rev .  des  trad.  pop.  in, 
611,  612. 


89 

French  (Breton).  L.  F.  SAUVE,  Rev.  des  trad.  pop.  i,  363,  364. 
German  (Saxon).  J.  HALTRICH,  Deutsche  Volksmarchen,  no.  loo. 

Vienna,  1877. 
French  (Walloon).    A.  GITTEE  et  J.  LEMOINE,   Contes  du   Pays 

Wallon,^.  159-69.    Paris,  1891. 

French  (La  Bresse).  P.  SEBILLOT,  Contes  du  Provinces  de  France. 
Spanish.    ANTONIO  DE  TRUEBA,  Narraciones  populares,  pp.  91  ff. 

Leipzig,  1875. 
Portuguese.     COELHO,    Cantos  populares  Portugueses,    pp.    13—5. 

Lisbon,  1879. 

American  Negro.  J.  C.  HARRIS,  Uncle  Remus :  his  Songs  and  Say- 
ings, no.  1 6. 

Additional  bibliographical  references  may  be  found  in  Chau- 

vin's  Bibliographic  des  Outrages  arabes,  in,  pp.  78,  79,  ix,  pp. 

30,  31- 

V.    SIR  CLEGES 
I.  Editions 

H.  WEBER,  Metrical  Romances,  i,  329  ff.   Edinburgh,  1810. 
A.  TREICHEL,  Englische  Studien,  xxn,  374  ff. 
J.  L.  WESTON,  Modern  English  rendering  in  volume  ivith  Libeaus 
Disconus.    London,  19 — . 

2.  Other  versions  of  the  story  of ( the  blows  shared  ' 
I.   English  : 

J.  G.  SAXE,   The  Nobleman,  the  Fisherman,  and  the  Porter. 
An  Italian  legend. 

Gesta  Romanorum  (E.  E.  T.  S.),  no.  90. 
a.   French  : 

TALLEMANT  DES  REAUX,  Les  Historiettes.   .   .   . 
L.  Mo  LAND,  Moliere  et  la  Comedie  Italienne,  pp.  375,  376, 
Nouveaux  Contes  a  Rirc,  p.  1 86.    Cologne,  1702. 
VOLTAIRE,    (Euvres    Completes,   t.   x,    Preface   de   Catherine 
Vadi,  p.  781.    Ref.  from  M.  Rene  Basset. 
3.    German  : 

GRAESSE,  Sagenkreise,  p.  251.    Ref.  from  Liebrecht-Dunlop. 


90 

GRIMM,  KindertnSrchen,  in,  p.  20,  no.  7. 

PAULI,  Schimpf  und  Ernst  (ed.  Osterley),  no.  614. 

F.  BOBERTAG,  Narrcnbuch,  pp.  7—86.     Berlin,  1885, 

F.  H.  VON  DER  HAGEN,  Narrcnbuch,  pp.  271—352.  Halle, 
1811. 

F.  W.  EBELING,  Die  Kalenberger.    Berlin,  1890. 

A.  NIEDERHOFFER,  Mecklenburg* s  Folks-Sagcn,  m,  196-9. 
Leipzig,  1859. 

Lyrum  Larum  Lyrissimum,  no.  184.    1700. 

4.  Latin  : 

J.  DE  BROMYARD,  Summa  Praedicantium,  fol.  clxiu,  b. 
The  same  story  is  told  in  T.  Wright's  Latin  Stones  (Percy 
Soc.),  no.  127. 

Facetiarum  Henrici  Bebelii  .  .  .  Libri  tret.    Tubingen,  1542. 

5.  Greek: 

E.  LEGRAND,  Recueil de  Contes  Populaires  Greet.  Paris,  1 88 1. 
(This  story  in  its  conclusion  is  unlike  that  in  the  Sir  C/eges.) 

6.  Spanish  : 

Cuentos  de  Juan  Aragones,  no.  3  in  Tunoncda,  El  Sobremetat 
etc.  Ref.  from  Liebrecht-Dunlop. 

Margerita  Facetiarum  Alfonsi  Aragon,  p.  4  b.  Argent. 
1508. 

7.  Swedish  : 

BACKSTROM,  Svenske  Volhbvcker ,  2.  Oefvers.,  p.  78,  n.  30. 

8.  Italian  : 

STRAPAROLA,  Piacevole  Notte,  n.  7,  Fav.  3. 

MARC.  MONNIER,  Les  Contes  Populaires  en  Italic,  La  Nouvelle 
du  Sommeilj  pp.  236,  237. 

Nerucci,  Sessanta  no-vellc  popular!  montalesij  n.  27,  La  novella 
di  sonno,  pp.  233—7.  Florence,  1880. 

9.  Turkish: 

FLOGEL,    Geschichte  der  Hofnarreny  176—8. 

10.  Arabic: 

R.  BASSET.  Contes  et  Legendes  arabes,  no.  57.  Rev.  des 
trad,  pop.,  xm,  675-7. 

R.  BASSET,  Nouveaux  Contes  berberes,  Paris,  1897.  Other 
Arabic  versions  cited  by  M.  Basset  are  : 

Kitab  NozAat  el  Djallas,  p.  23. 


91 

MAS'OUDI,  Prairies  for,  t.  vm,  ch.  cvxni,  p.  163.  Re- 
produced by  Ben  Sedira,  Cours  de  Litterature  arabe,  348,  p.  32  ff. 
Found  also  in  Les  Mille  et  une  Nutts,  ed.  Beyrout,  t.  in,  p.  176  ; 
ed.  Quaire,  t.  n,  p.  206. 

3.  Related  stones 

Les  S^uatre  Souhaits  Saint-Martin.  The  different  versions  are 
discussed  by  Bedier,  op.  cit.t  pp.  112-28. 

Lucky  they  are  not  Peaches.  W .  A.  Clouston,  Popular  Tales  and 
Fictions ,  vol.  u,  467  ff.  This  tale  is  closely  associated  with  the 
one  in  Sir  Cleges. 

Fable  of  Avaricious  and  Envious.  See  notes  by  Jacobs  in  his 
edition  of  Aesop's  Fables. 

Du  Vilain  au  Bufet,  Montaiglon-Reynaud,  in,  Fab.  80. 

4.  Other  stories  having  points  of  resemblance  to  that  in  "  Sir  Clegts  " 

The  ballad  of  Hind  Etin.   Child,  Ballads. 

N.  BOZON,  Contes  Moralises,  no.    112. 

Adventures  of  Otvleglass,  no.  39. 

P.  SEBILLOT,  Contes  des  Provinces  de  France.  Les  Jacqueut  a 
la  Cour. 

Del  Convoiteus  et  de  r  Envieus  (Montaiglon-Raynaud,  T, 
au-4). 

Latin  Gesta  Romanorum,  ed.  Osterley,  cap.  73. 


ABBREVIATIONS 

S  =  Dame  Siriz.      C  =  Sir  Cleges.      V  =  Vox  and  Wolf. 
N.  E.  D.  =  New  English  Dictionary. 


A,  interj. :  S  365,  V  172, 

C  109.   O.E.  a. 
a,   prep.,  in:  V  36.    O.E. 

an,  on. 
abide,  v.  tr.,  wait  for:  im- 

per.    2  sg.,  abid,  S  293. 

O.E.  abidan. 
abite,   v.  tr. ,  to  bite  :  pret. 

part. ,  abiten :  bitten,  tast- 
ed, V  203.    O.E.  abltan. 
aboue,  adv.,  above:  S  413. 

O.E.  abufan  on  bufan. 
about e,  adv.,  about  :  S  80, 

C   277  ;  abouten,  V   15. 

O.E.  a-butan. 
abugge,  v.  tr.,  atone  for: 

inf.,  V  208.    O.E.  abyc- 

gan. 
ac,   conj.,   but  :   V  59,  84, 

106.   O.E.  ac. 
acorde,  v.,  to  agree  with  : 

pret.    part.,    a-corde,    C 

368.   O.F.  acorder. 
accursed,  pret.  part.,  ac- 


cursed: V  55.  O.E.  cur- 
sian  +  prefix  a. 

a-do,  n. ,  to  do,  affair,  busi- 
ness: C  527.  M.E.  at  do, 
a  Northern  form. 

adoun,  adv.,  down:  V  38, 
57,  etc.,  C  1 88  j  doun, 
V  247  ;  done,  C  975 
doune,  €452.  O.E.  of 
dune. 

aduersarys,  n.  pi.,  adver- 
saries :  C  431.  O.  F. 
aversaire  (aversier,  adver- 
sier). 

afalle,  v.,  to  fall  down: 
pret.  part.,  afalle,  V  18. 
O.E.  afeallan. 

a-ferd,  adj.,  afraid:  C  220. 
O.E.  af^red. 

afingret  (see  hoffurst), 
pret.  part.,  ahungered:  V 
2,  4,  no,  190,  258,  etc. 
O.  E.  ofhyngrod,  of hin- 
grod,  p.  p. 


94 


after,  prep.,  after ',  for: 
V  61,  C  161,  246,  448, 
5235  affter,  S  197,  412$ 
concerning,  V  5  2  j  accord- 
ing to,  S  53,  C  240.  O.E. 
aefter. 

after,  adv. ,  afterward  :  C 
151,211,  383,  389,454. 
O.E.  jefter. 

after-werd,  adv. :  €270, 
463,  5485  aftyr-werd,  C 
472.  O.E.  sefterweard. 

ageyn,  adv.,  again,  back: 
C  175,  3185  ajein,  S  296. 
O.E.  ongean. 

a-^ene,  prep.,  against,  on 
account  of:C.  135.  O.E. 
ongean. 

ago,pret.  part.,£0»*:  ¥49; 
ag°>  v  J53-  O.  E.  agan. 

agrise,  v.  intr.,  infin.,  be 
alarmed,  frightened  :  V 
240.  O.E.  agrisan. 

Ailmer,  pr.  n. :  V  271. 

al,  adj.,  all:  S  49,  134, 
153,  etc.,  V  in,  200, 
etc.;  all,  C  n,  14,  29, 
no,  276,  430,  etc.jalle, 
V  63,  147,  156.  O.E. 
call. 

al,  adv.:  S  151,  V  17;  all, 
C  6  8,  etc. 

al,  pron. :  S  63,  146;  all, 
C  56,  etc. 


alas,  interj. :  S  333.  O.F. 
a  las,  ha  las. 

al-hone,  adv.,  cf.  a-lone. 

aliue,  adj.,  alive:  V  183. 
O.E.  on  life. 

allegate,  adv.,  in  every 
'way.  S  398.  Cf.  O.  N. 
allagotu.  Not  cited  earlier 
than  1200.  See  N.  E.D. 

all-thyng,  n.,  everything: 
C  305.  O.E.  ealle  Hng 
(pi), 

all-wey,  adv.,  in  any  case: 
C  228. 

almes,  n.,  alms,  charity  : 
gen.  sg.  almes,  V  44. 
O.E.  aelmysse. 

almes-dede,  n.,  almsdeed9 
almsgiving:  S  207. 

almi^tten,  adj.,  Almighty: 
n.  sg.,  S  25,  322,  371; 
all-my^ht,  C  66  ;  all- 
myjht,  C  539.  O.E.  ael- 
miht,  adj.  j  aslmeahtig, 
adj. 

almus-folke,  n.,  almsgiv- 
ers:  C  31.  Earliest  in- 
stance of  this  sense  cited 
by  N.E.D.  is  1709. 

alon,  adv.,  belonging^):  S 
10.  O.E.  [andlang]  ge- 


a-lone,  adv.,  alone:  C  i86j 
al-hone,  V  275. 


alpi,  adj.,  single:  V  132. 
O.  E.  anlipig,  aenlipig, 
etc. 

als,  also,  al  so:  see  as. 

also,  conj.,  also  :  C  477  j 
ail-so,  C  414.  O.E.  eal- 
swa. 

amend,  v.  tr.,  amend:  im- 
per.  2  sg.,  8113.  O.F. 
amender. 

amidde,  prep.,  'in  middle 
of,'  'half  way  down': 
V  241.  O.E.  on  middan. 

amidward,  adv.,  in  the 
middle  of:  V  274. 

among,  adv. ,  among  :  V 
266.  O.E.  onmang. 

among,  prep. :  C  326,  446, 
515.  O.E.  onmang. 

and,  conj.,  and:  S  3,  5, 
etc.,  V  1 8,  19,  etc.,  C  i, 
3,  etc.}  //,  S  164,  363, 
C  3°°>  35°>  524i  and 
if  ==  if,  S  1 68,  392, 
394}  a,  scribal  error  for 
and,  S  361  }  an,  S  140, 
i45}on=  'and,'  S  240, 
see  Notes}  and='by' 
in  the  phrase,  on  and  on, 
V  197,  269.  O.E.  and, 
ond.  In  conditional  sense, 
possibly  fromO.N.  enda. 
See  N.E.D. 

angry,  adj.,  angry:  C  303} 


95 


angary,  C  44*;fr.  anger, 
n.  [O.N.  angr]-p-y,  adj. 
ending. 

ani,  adj.,  any:  S  15,  41, 
etc.}  eni,  S  363,  373, 
etc.  }  any,  C  1 1 7,  119, 
205,  etc.  O.E.  aenig. 

anon,  adv.,  at  once:  S  155, 
C  320,  401,  404}  pres- 
ently, C398.  O.E.  on  an. 

anon-ryght,  adv.,  right 
a*way:  C  531,  541. 

anou;,  see  I  nou. 

anoundred  (an  +  hun- 
dred), V  8. 

ansine,  n.,  longing,  desire, 
*want:  S  306.  O.E.  sin, 
syn,  f.  sight  +  prefix  an-, 
see  N.E.D. 

ansuerd,  v.,  pret.  3  sg., 
ansfwered:  C  433.  O.E. 
andswarian. 

ansytourres,  n.,  ancestors: 
C  a.  O.F.  ancestre. 

any,  see  ani. 

apayd,  pret.  part.,  pleased: 
C  485.  O.  F.  a  payer, 
apaier. 

aperseiuede,  v.,  pret.  i  sg., 
perceived,  observed :  V 
213.  O.F.  aperceveir. 

aquenche,  v.,  inf.  transf., 
appease  :  V  13,  112. 
O.E.  acwencan. 


ar,    prep.,    ere,    before:  S 

io8;conj.,  before,  S  381. 

See  er. 
aray,  n.,  array,    dress:   C 

261.  O.F.  aret,  arroi,  ar- 

roy,  etc. 
a-ray,    v.,    infin.,    array, 

dress-.   C   543.    O.  F.  ar- 

(r)eier,  areer,   arreer,  ar- 

(r)oier,  etc. 

arise,  arisen,  v.,  arise-,  in- 
fin., V  239,  2,645  imper. 

3  pi.,  arise>,  V  269.  O.E. 

arisan. 
arme,  n.,  arm-.  C  477  ;  pi., 

armys, C  123.  O.E.earm. 
(Kyng)  Artour,  pr.  n.,  gen. 

sg.,  C  5. 
as,  conj. :  S  i,  C  21,  97, 

137,   etc.;  al  so,  S  267; 

al-so,  ¥217;  als,  C  1 2 1  j 

als  .  .  .  as,  C  141,    206, 

339  5   also  ...  as,  S  95. 

O.E.  ealswa. 
ascape,  v.,  infin.,  escape: 

S  370.   O.F.  escaper. 
aske,  v.,  pres.   i   sg.,  ask, 

request:  C  428.  O.E.  ac- 

sian.   See  axe. 
askyng,  n.,  asking,  request, 

boon:    C  344,  357,    362, 

506.    O.E.  acsung. 
assent,    v.,    pres.    i     sg., 

agree,    consent  -.    C    145, 


sente,  C   289.    O.F.  as- 

(s)  enter. 
assunder,    adv.,  asunder: 

S  360.  O.E.  on  sundran. 
at,   prep.:  S  141,   etc.,   V 

21,    etc.,    C  8,   etc.  j  by, 

C  284.    O.E.  aet. 
ajmrst,  adj.,  thirsty:  V  66 j 

hof>urst,   V  274.     O.  E. 

of>yrst,  p.  p.    of  '  of>yr- 

stan.'  Cf.  afingret,  p.  p. 
a-two,  adv.,/w  t<wo:  €476. 

O.E.  on  tu,  on  twa. 
a-vayle,  v.,  infin.,  avail, 

help:  C  396.    Not  in  O. 

Fr. ;    first    quoted    from 

Cursor  Mundi. 
auenture,   n.,   adventure  \ 

V  70.    O.F.  aventure. 
awai,  adv.,  away:  S  149, 

4375    wei,  V  53 j    away, 

S  1 7  j  a- way,  C  6  8  j  a- wey, 

€74,  80,  150,  etc.   O.E. 

onweg. 
awarie,v.,subj.3  sg.,curse: 

S  332.    O.E.  awergian. 
awecche,  v.,  infin.,  awak- 
en:   V  267.   O.E.  awec- 

c(e)an. 
awne,  adj.,   own:  €389, 

440,  534.    O.E.  agen. 
awreke,       pret.        part., 

avenged:   V    €4.     O.  E. 

awrecan. 


axe,  v.,   pres.  i  sg.,   ask: 

V  52.   See  aske. 
ay,   adv.,    e<ver:   S  304,  C 

73.    O.N.  ei,  ey. 

bad,  bade,  v.,  pret.  3  sg., 
bade,  see  bidde. 

bake,  n.,  back-.  C  245,  359. 
O.E.  bcec. 

bare,adj.:  €17.  O.E.baer. 

be,  ben,  v.,  infm.,  be,  S 
46,  C26,  44,  136,  202, 
etc.;  ben,  899,  247,295, 
V  105,  118,  162,  etc. j 
pres.  i  sg.,  am,  S  162, 
etc.,  V  103;  ame,  C  220, 
408  j  be,  C  423;  pres.  2 
sg.,  art,  S  117,  167,  V 
130,  etc.;  arte,  €535; 
hertou  (art  -}-  thou),  V 
1 20  ;  bes.  art,  S  444; 
pres.  3  sg.,  is,  S  33, 
etc.,  V  127,  etc.,  €217; 
his,  S  28,  142;  hiis, 
V  1 06;  pres.  3  pi.,  be)>, 
V  49,  153,  1 66,  etc.; 
be,  C  309  ;  is,  C  48  ; 
pres.  subj.,  i  sg.,  be,  C 
308;  2  sg.,  be,  8296;  3 
sg.,  be,  S  25,  226,  C 
288  ;  2  pi.,  be,  C  134; 
pret.  i  sg. ,  was,  C  1 1 2  ; 
2  sg.,  were,  V  60,  219, 
C  330;  3  sg.,  wes  (usual 


97 


in  S  &  V)  ;  was,  S  76, 
C49,  68,  etc.}  ves,  S  79, 
V  258  ;  wes  him  (reflex- 
ive), V  31,  261  ;  pret. 
i  pi.,  weren,  V  64,  3  pi., 
weren,  V  28,  40,  289; 
were,  C  2,  31,  168,453  5 
wer,  C  17,  35,  51,  etc.; 
pret.  subj.,  3  sg.,  were,  S 
246,  336,  V  43,  218  j 
wer,  C  502$  i  pi.,  weren, 
V  64;  3  p].,  weren, V 2 04; 
were,  C  70  ;  pret.  part., 
ben,  S  68,  V  185,  200, 
etc.  ;  iben,  V  87,  I-ben, 
V  100;  be,  €437.  O.E. 
beon,  wesan. 

be,  prep.,  by.  C  58,  133, 
171,  265,  etc.;  according 
to,  C  525.  See  bi,  by. 

be-cause,  conj.,  C  221. 
M.E.  hybrid  compound. 
O.E.  be+  O.F.  cause. 

bedde,  n.,  bed:  S  102,  V 
214,  216,  etc. ;  bedey  C 
1 6 1.  O.E.  bedd. 

bede,  v.  tr.,  offer,  announce'. 
infm. ,  bede,  S  40 ;  pres.  i 
sg.,  bede,  S  129,  130;  3 
sg.,  bede>,  S  374;  pres. 
subj.  3  sg.,bede,  S  363; 
pret.  3  sg.,  beed,  S  349; 
bed,  S  367.  O.E.  beo- 
dan. 


98 


befel,  v.,  pret.  3  sg.,  be- 
fell, happened-.  S  16. 
O.E.  befeallan. 

be-for,  prep.:  C  183,  403; 
be-fore,  C  a,  3725  be- 
forne,  6399.  O.E.  befor- 
an,  bifora,  befora  (hind), 
etc. 

began,  see  biginne. 

begers,  n.,  beggars-,  poss. 
pl.,C  267.  O.F.  begard. 

be-hold,  v.,  see,  behold:  in- 
fin.,  C  279;  pres.  imper. 
2  sg.,  C  276;  biheld, 
pret.  3  sg.,  V  15.  O.E. 
bihaldan;  W.  S.  beheal- 
dan. 

be-hynd,  adv.,  behind:  C 
46.  O.E.  behindan. 

belle,  n.,  belly  (in  oath  = 
O.F.  ventre  bleu  (dieu) 
quoted  by  Matzner) 
scarcely  as  in  Wright  = 
tunic  or  =  bell  (?):  8390, 
421. 

be-lyue,  adv.,  quickly,  at 
once:  C  1395  blyue,  C 
1525  bliue,  V  109.  M.E. 
comp.  bi-life,  etc.  See 
bliue. 

benedicite,  n.,  blessing : 
benedicite  be  herinne  = 
«God  save  us,'  S  193. 
Lat.  benedicite. 


bere,   v.,    bear:    infin.,   C 

55ijimper.  2sg.,C245; 

bore,  p.  p.,  V  116}  born, 

p.     p.,    C    387.    O.   E. 

beran. 
beryes,  n.,  berries  :  pi.,  C 

201,  203.   O.E.  berie. 
bes,  v.,  pres.  2  sg.  =  O.E. 

bis,     bist    (Orrm.     best, 

etc.)  :   thou  art,   S  444. 

See  be,  ben. 
best, adj.:  C  142,  159,212. 

O.E.  bet(e)st. 
be-syde,  adv.,    beside:    C 

187  j  by.  .  .syde,  C  87. 

O.E.  be  sidan. 
bete,  v.,  remedy  :  infin.,  V 

276.    O.E.  betan. 
bete,   v.,  beat :    infin.,    V 

290,   C  20,   298.    O.E. 

beatan. 
beter,  adj.,  better  :  S  274, 

C    236}    betere,   S   389; 

better,  C  26,  147.    O.E. 

betera,  bet. 
be-thought,     v.,    reflex., 

seemed  :  pret.  3  sg.,  C  90; 

reflected,   pret.    3  sg.,  C 

349.    O.E.  bij>encan. 
bey,  v.,  pret.  3  sg.,  bo<wed: 

V    194.     O.   E.    bugan, 

beah,  bugon,  bogen. 
bi,  prep.,  along:  S  i,  74;  in 

oaths,  S  31,895  concern- 


ing,  S  143,  V  no}  ac- 
cording to,  S  253,  405, 
V  5o}  beside,  S  383.  O. 
E.  bi.  See  be. 

bicharde,  v.,  pret.  3  sg. , 
deceived,  beguiled  ^293. 
O.E.  becerran. 

biche,  n.,  bitch:  S  354} 
bicche,  S  372.  O.  E. 
bicce. 

bicom,  v.,  become:  S  376. 
O.E.  becuman. 

bidde,  v.,  pray,  bid,  com- 
mand, invite:  infin.,  V 
179}  pres.  i  sg.,  bidde, 
S  209}  pret.  i  sg.,  bad, 

s  3995  3  sg->  bade»  c 
398}  pret.  part. ,  I-bede,  V 
i35>  *55>  bede,  C  330. 
Results  from  confusion  of 
two  distinct  words,  O.E. 
biddan,  '  pray/  and  beo- 
dan,  'offer,1  'com- 
mand.* 

biden,  v.,  bide,  live  to  :  S 
116}  pres.  i  sg.,  bide,  S 
26,  133,  433.  O.E.  bi- 
dan.  See  abide. 

biginne,  v.,  begin:  pres.  3 
sg.,  biginnej>,  V  80;  pret. 
3  sg.,  bigon,  S  7,  24, 
302,  353}bigan,  V  107} 
bigon  to  =  'did'  (?),  S 
*97>  4*7,  4*o;  pret.  3 


99 


pi.,  be-gan,  C  58;  pret. 
part.,  bigunne,  S  384.  O. 
E.  beginnan. 

bi-go,  v.,  pres.  subj.  3  sg., 
encompass,  take  possession 
of:  V53.  O.E.  began. 

bi-^ende,  prep.,  beyond:  S 
105.  O.E.  begeondan. 

bi^ete,  n.,  getting,  earn- 
ings, spoil  (Matzner):  V 
248.  Not  cited  in  O.E. 
Formed  from  O.E.  verb, 
begitan.  See  N.E.D. 

biheld,  pret.,  see  be-hold. 

bihete,  v., promise:  pres.  i 
sg.,S428.  O.E.behatan. 

bileue,  v.,  leave,  remain: 
pres.  subj.  3  sg., bileue,  V 
198}  imper.  2  sg.,  bilef, 
leave,  S  217.  O.E.  be- 
Isefan. 

bimelde,  v.,  pres.  subj.  2 
sg.,  betray:  S  38.  M.E. 
compound  from  O.  E. 
bi,  prep.  -J-  meldian.  , 

bind,  v.,  bind:  pres.  3  ptf  V 
2 545  pret.  part,  (harde),  I- 
bonden  =  '  hard  pressed/ 
S  204.  O.E.  bindan.  See 
hounbinde. 

binefe,  adv.,  beneath:  V 
253.  O.E.  binij^an,  be- 
neo^an. 

binomen,     binome,    pret. 


100 


part.,  taken  away.  S 
295>  V  173.  O.E.  beni- 
man. 

bireued,  v.  tr.,  pret.  part., 
taken  from-.  8336.  O.E. 
bereafian. 

biset,  v.,  invested-,  pret. 
part.,  8274.  O.E.  beset- 
tan. 

bi-fenche,  v.  reflex.,  be- 
think oneself,  reflect:  in- 
fin., V  83;  pret.  3  sg., 
bi)?oute,  8135  pret.  part. , 
bi>out,  V  8 1.  O.  E.  bi- 
>encan. 

bitide,  v.,  happen,  betide  : 
infin.,  S  124.  M.E.  com- 
pound, bi,  prep.  -{-  O.  E. 
tidan. 

bi-wonne,  pret.  part. ,  <won : 
8381.  M.E.  compound, 
bi,  prep,  -f-  O.  E.  win- 
nan. 

blame,  n.,  charge,  blame  \ 
8198,393,0529.  O.F. 
blame. 

blame,  v.,  blame \  infin.,  S 
56.  O.  F.  blamer,  blas- 
mer. 

bled,  v.,  bleed:  infin.,  C 
336.  O.E.  bledan. 

blesse,  v.,  bless-,  infin.,  S 
2585  opt.  2  sg.,  blesse 
(be),  '  God  bless  you,  S 


2015  opt.  3  sg.,  I-blessi, 
S  161.  O.E.  bletsian. 

blefeli,  adv.,  gladly.  S  35; 
ble}>eliche,  V  171.  De- 
rived from  O.  N.  bleab, 
<weak,'  <  gentle,'  'kind,' 
but  influenced  in  meaning 
byO.E.blibe.  SeeN.E.D. 

blisse,  n.,  bliss:  V  140, 
144,  294.  O.E.  bllSs. 

blij?,  adj.,  glad:  S  259; 
blfte,  V  2495  blythe,  C 
1405  blyth,  €151.  O.E. 


bliue,  cf.  be-lyue,  adv. 
blod,  n.,  blood:   V  40,  515 

dat.,  blode,  C  60.    O.E. 

blod. 
bloke,   n.,   block:  C   452. 

O.F.  bloc. 
blome,  n.,  bloom:  S   294. 

O.N.  blom. 
body,  n.,  body:  C  299.   O. 

E.  bodig. 
boinard,  n.,  fool,    knave: 

S  288.    O.F.  buinard. 
boke,  n.,  book:  C  248.    O. 

E.  boc. 
boket,    n.,    bucket:  V  78, 

80,  88,  232;  boketes,  V 

73.    O.F.  buket  (?). 
bold,  adj.,  assured,  certain: 

S  545  bolde,  C  331.    O. 

E.  beald. 


101 


boldly,  adv.,  €328.   O.E. 

bealdlice. 
bond,  adj.,  bond,  enslaved: 

C  114.    O.E.  bonda,  n. 
bone,  n.,   request,  boon:    S 

375.   O.  N.  bon,  corr.  to 

O.E.  ben. 
bone,    n.,    bone:    C   476  ; 

pi.   bones,    V   63.    O.E. 

ban. 

bore,  p.  p.,  see  bere,"v. 
bote,  prep.,  but,  besides:  S 

137,  v  39,  l64>  *54i 
bot,  C  69,  75,  83,  428. 
O.E.  butan. 

bote,  conj.,  but:  S  38,  415 
bot,  0251,  320;  bote, 
unless,  S  234,  V  43,  1935 
bot,  C  286,  3165  bote  if, 
unless,  S  181;  bot  if,  C 


S  400.   O.E.  butan. 

bote,  n.,  remedy:  C  361. 
O.E.  bot. 

both,  adv.,  C  32,  51,  65, 
114,  1405  bothe,  C  3, 
31;  boj>e,  S  121,  150,  V 
167;  boj?,  S  86}  boben, 
V  26.  O.N.  ba«ar. 

bofe,  pron.,  both:  C  31. 
O.N.  baftar,  m.,  baftir, 
f.,  bsefli,  baiSi,  n. 

Botolfston,  pr.  n.,  Boston: 
877. 


boue,  prep.,  above:  S  90. 
O.E.  bufan. 

bowje,  n.,  bough:  €196, 
1993  bow,  C  214.  O.E. 
bog. 

bred,  n.,  bread:  S  327.  O. 
E.  bread. 

breke,  v.,  break:  infin.,  C 
266;  pret.  3  sg.,  breke, 
S  356  }  brake,  C  476. 
O.E.  brecan. 

brest,  n.,  breast:  V  194. 
O.E.  breost. 

bringen,  v.,  bring:  infin., 
S  189,  404;  bringe,  V 
1265  pres.  subj.,  2  sg., 
bringe,  S  400;  pres.  im- 
per.  2Sg.,bryng,  C  399; 
pret.  3  sg.,  broute,  S  92, 
V  104,  259;  brohute,  V 
7  o  j  brow^t,  €274;  broujt, 

C  3°4,  334,  4oo,  4035 
brought,  C  2 1 6  5  pret.  part. , 
I-brout,  S  244,  424,  V 82, 
122.  O.E.  bringan. 

broker,  n.,  brother:  S  135. 
O.E.  broker. 

brouke,  v.,  use,  enjoy:  pres. 
i  sg.,  S  273.  O.E.  bru- 
can. 

bryght,  adj.,  bright:  C  388. 
O.E.  beorht. 

b ruche,  n., breach,  opening: 
V2i,  233.  O.E.  bryce. 


102 


buggen,  v.,   buy.  S   272,- 

pret.  part., bought,  C  283, 

335.    O.E.  bycgan. 
burste,  v.,  burst-,  pret.  subj. 

3  sg->  S  360.     O.E.  ber- 

stan. 
burf,  v.  impers.,  behooves: 

pres.  3  sg.,  S  82.    O.E. 

byrian. 
buske,v.  ,to  thrash, hustle(?) 

boxQ):  infin.,  C  20.   Du. 

boxen  j    L.  G.     baksen, 

baaksen. 
by,  see  bi,  prep. 

callyd,  v.,  called  :  pret.   3 

pi.,    C  494,    533.   O.E. 

ceallian. 
can,  see  con. 
cardyff,  pr.  n. :  C  87,  233, 

*39>    544  j    cardyfe,    C 

*54- 
care,  n.,   care,   anxiety.  C 

148.    O.E.  cearu. 
carrals,    n.,  carols-,  pi.,  C 

103.   O.F.  carole. 
castell,  n.,  castle:  C  544. 

Late  O.E.  castel, fr.  O. N. 

F.  castel. 
castell-jjate,  n.,  castle  gate-. 

C  256. 
cellerer,  n.,  cellarer:  V  59. 

Anglo-Fr.  celererj  O.F. 

celerier. 


certes,  adv.,  certainly.  S 
6 1,  139.  O.F.  certes. 

chapitre,  n.,  chapter,  ec- 
clesiastical court:  S  244. 
O.F.  chapitre. 

charyte,  n.,  charity  :  C 
432.  O.F.  charitet. 

chauntecler,  pr.  n. :  V  37, 
46. 

cheken,  n.,  cheeks:  pi.,  S 
358.  O.E.  ceace. 

chere,  n.,  cheer,  look,  ex- 
pression: 030,  124,  147, 
156,  etc.  O.F.  chere. 

cherle,  n.,  churl:  C  331; 
chorle,  C  296.  O.  E. 
ceorl. 

chery,  n.,  cherry.  C  21  ij 
pi.,  cherys,  C  279,  311, 
374,  etc.  O.N.F.  cherise. 

cheryd,  v.,  cheered:  pret.  3 
pi.,  C  33.  From  chere, 
n. 5  O.F.  chere,  chiere. 

chery-tre,  n.,  cherry  tree: 
C  194.  M.E.  compound, 
but  cf.  O.E.  cyrstreow. 
Cf.  N.E.D. 

ches,  v.,  choose:  infin.,  C 
427.  O.E.  ceosan. 

chesyn,  n.,  cause:  be  che- 
syn  of  =  because  of,Ciji. 
O.F.  acheson,  acheisonj 
Lat.  occasionem. 

childe,  n.,   child:  dat.,   V 


228  ;  pi.,  children,  V 
116,  i55;chylder,  C  83, 
1 60,  167,  173,  etc.  O.E. 
cild. 

chorle,  see  cherle. 

chyrche,  n.,  church  \  dat., 
€163.  O.E.  cyrice. 

clarc,  n.,  clerk-.  S  348,  366, 
380,  3875  clerc,  S  353, 
363,  3735  P1-,  clarkes,  S 
248.  O.F.  clerc. 

(dame)  Clarys,  pr.  n. :  C 
*8,  551,  557- 

(sir)  Clegys,  pr.  n. :  €7, 
37  ;  sir  cleges,  C  259, 
271,295,  301,  322,  328, 
382,  439,  533  ;  cleges, 
C  145,  403,  494  5  syr 
clegys,  C  238,  2475  syr 
cleges,  C  86,  89,  169, 
253,  *89,  3*9,  349,  361, 
373,445,478,483,  505} 
syr ,  C  466. 

clene,  adj.,  pure-.  V  227, 
250,  C  211  ;  klene,  V 
178.  O.E.  clSne. 

clere,  adj.,  clear,  bright-.  C 
374,  557,  575-  O.F. 
cler. 

closed,  v.,  clothed-,  pret. 
part.,  S  6 ;  I-clo>ed,  S 
319.  O.E.  claiSian. 

clothes,  n.,  clothes-.  €332. 
O.E.  claiSas. 


io3 

clothyng,  v.  n.,  clothing: 
C  260. 

cloute,  v., :  clout,  beat:  in- 
fin.,  C  270.  O.E.*  clu- 
tian,  of  which  only  the 
pret.  part.,  geclutod,  sur- 
vives. 

cnowe,  v.,  know,  infin.,  S 
122.  O.E.  cnawan. 

cnul,  n. ,  knell  -.  V  25 1 .  See 
soule-cnul. 

cold,  r\.,cold:  S  3 1 2}  adj.,  V 
254}colde,  V  255.  O.E. 
ceald,  adj. 

coler,  n.,  collar:  €554. 
O.F.  colier. 

comandyd,  v.,  command- 
ed: pret.  3  sg.,  C  382. 
O.E.  comander. 

come,  n.,  coming:  S  108, 
V  134.  O.E.  cyme. 

comen,  v.,  comt:  infin.,  co- 
men,  V  136,  180,  230, 
235,  etc.}  kome,  V  174; 
com,  023,  5115  come,  C 
3305  cum,  C  3435  pres. 
2  sg.,  commys,  C  284; 
comyst,  €314,  3185  pres. 
imper.  2  sg.,  com,  S  22, 
28,  V  37}  3  pi. ,  komej?,  V 
2705  pres.  part.,  comyng, 
C  224  }  pret.  i  sg.,  com, 
S  1,64,  1805  2sg.,  come, 
S  2625  3  sg.,  com,  S 


104 


22,  etc.,  C  122,  1 8 1, 
295;  come,  V  17  j  come 
hire,  S  299  5  pret.  3  pi., 
comen,  V  2875  com,  C 
115,  2565  pret.  part.,  I- 
com,  S  1625  I-comen,  V 
59  ;  comen,  S  296.  O.E. 
cuman. 

comener,  n.,  commoner-.  C 
65.  M.E.  formation  from 
O.F.  comun. 

comforth,  v.,  comfort:  pres. 
3  sg.,  C  149.  O.F.  cun- 
fort,  confort. 

commyng,  v.  n.,  coming: 
C  280. 

con,  v.,  knoiJOy  kno^w  hofwt 
can  :  pres.  i  sg.,  con,  S 
47,  65,  206,  450  ;  cone, 
S  1 68  ;  2  sg.,  const,  S 
2855  can,  C  490;  3  sg., 
can,  V  97  ;  pret.  2  sg., 
couj>est,  S  1 8 8,  220;  pret. 
3  sg.,  coube,  C  208  j 
pret.  subj.  3  sg.,  kou>e, 
V  184.  O.E.  can,  con, 
cufte. 

conseyle,  n.,  advice :  C 
393.  O.F.  conseil. 

content,  adj.,  contented, 
satisfied,  glad  :  C  395, 
564.  O.F.  content. 

contre,  n.,  country:  C  43. 
O.F.  contree. 


coppe,  n.,    cup  :    S    329  $ 

cowpe,    C    550.      O.E. 

cuppe. 
Corne-weyle,    pr.   n. :     C 

387. 
cost,  n.,  cost:  C  120.  O.F. 

cost, 
couenant,  n.,  covenant-.  C 

480  ;  couenand,    €435. 

O.F.  co(n)venant. 
coufe,  coufest,  see  con. 
crafftes,    n.,    crafts  :    pi., 

S  190.   O.E.  craeft. 
craue,    v.,    ask:    infin. ,   S 

352.   O.E.  crafian. 
crede,    n.,    creed:    S  209. 

O.E.  creda. 
Crist,  pr.  n.,  Qhrist:  S  332, 

etc.  5  cryst,  C  522;  gen., 

crystes,  €133. 
Cristine,  adj.,    Christian: 

V  120.   Anglo-Fr.   Cris- 

tien. 
croune,  n.,  tonsure:  S  348. 

Anglo-Fr.  coroune. 
Crystenmes,     pr.    n. :     C 

85*    a55>     crystyn-mes, 

C  38.    Late  O.E.  crystes 

maesse. 
cunne,  n.,  kind:  nom.  sg., 

kun,    V  123;   kunne,    V 

545  kynne,  C  569  }  gen. 

sg.,  kunnes,  V  146,  224, 

2945  cunnes,  815;  nom. 


pl.(?),  cunne,  V  166.  O. 
E.  cynn. 

cursede,  v.,  pret.  3  sg., 
cursed  :  V  259.  O.  E. 
cursian. 

curtasly,  adv.,  courteously. 
C5o7. 

curteis,  adj.,  'well-man- 
ner edt  courteous:  S  119, 
341  ;  curtas,  C  13,  570. 
O.  F.  corteis. 

curteisi,  n.,  courtesy ,  man- 
ners: S  noj  curtasse,  C 
455.  O.F.  cortesie. 

curtiler,  n.,  gardener:  V 
272.  O.F.  cortiller. 

dai,  n.,  day.  S.  150,  208, 
345  ;  day,  S  16  j  dey,  C 

30,  39,  135,   158,   »3*  J 

pi.,    dales,   V  48,    152  ; 

dayes,  V49jdaus,  8324; 

lif-daie,    V    200.     O.  E. 

daeg,  dagas. 
dame,  n.,  lady.  S   37,  61, 

etc. ,  C  2 1 7  j  dame  clarys, 

C  28,  557  ;  dam  clarys, 

551.     O.F.  dame, 
dansyng,  v.  n.,   dancing: 

C  104. 
dar,  v.,  =  >ar,    etc.,  pres. 

2    sg.,    needest:    S    260. 

O.E.  J>earf. 
ded,  adj.,  dead:  S  309,  V 


105 


149,  191  5  dede,  C  500. 

O.E.  dead. 
dede,  n.,  deed,  thing:  S  41, 

V  223.   O.E.  dseU 
dede,  v.,  see  do. 
del,    n.,    lament ,   grief:    S 

344,  356.   O.F.  doel. 
dele,  v. ,  divide,  give  :  in- 

fin.,  €515.   O.E.  dselan. 
deley,    n.,    delay  :  C  264. 

O.F.  delei. 
deleyd,  v.,   delayed:  pret. 

part.,    €441.    O.F.  de- 
layer. 
depe,    adj.,    deep:  V  109. 

O.E.  deop. 
dere,   adj.,    dear:    C  202. 

O.E.  deore. 
dere,  adv.,  dearly.  €283, 

335.    O.E.  deore. 
derne,  adj.,  secret:  S  130. 

O.E.  derne,  dierne. 
dernelike,   adv.,    secretly: 

S  86. 

desesyd,  v.,  troubled,  af- 
flicted: pret.  part,  0191. 

O.F.  desaaisier. 
dettys,  n.,    debts:  pi.,    C 

562.   O.F.  dette. 
deuel,  n.,    devil:    V  104, 

282.   O.E.  deofol. 
dey,  see  dai. 
dey-lyght,  n.,  daylight:  C 

241. 


io6 


deyntes,  n.,  dainties:  pi., 
C  413.  O.F.  deyntee. 

do,  don,  done,  v.,  do,  cause 
to,  give,  put:  infin.,  do, 
cause,  S  126,  cause  to, 
V  2515  don,  do,  S  32,  35, 
53  ;  done,  do,  V  2365 
pres.  i  sg.,  do,  cause  to, 
V  515  2  sg.,  dest,  dost, 
v  33>  35>  J52  >  dost,  s 
377  j  3  sg.,  do,  C  232  } 
3  pi.,  do>,  do,  V  217  5 
pres.  subj.  2  sg.,  do, give, 
V  192  }  3  sg.,  do,  grant, 
S  322,  330;  pret.  3  sg., 
dede,  caused,  V  67  j 
dyde,  did,  C  573  j  pret. 
3  pl->  dyd,  <&/,  C  5745 
dyde,  ^/W,  C  160  5  pret. 
subj.  i  sg.,  dude,  S  172  5 
pret.  part.,  I-don,  V  106, 
put,  S  323  j  don,  done, 
S  226,  V  39,  C  49,  com- 
pleted, C  1785  do,  done, 
V  68,  made,  0411;  I-do, 
done,  V  222.  O.E.  don. 

done,  adv.,  down:  C  97. 
See  adown. 

dore,  n.,  door:  S  301,  V  27, 
C  293.  O.E.  duru. 

dou,  n.,  dough-,  ¥.256. 
O.E.  dah. 

dou^tyer,  adj. ,  more  dough- 
ty: compar.,  C  8.  Late 


O.E.  dohtig,  for  earlier, 

dyhtig,  dihtig. 
doun,   n.,    do<vun:  V  247  5 

doune,  €452.  Seeadoun. 
doute,   n.,    doubt,  fear:  C 

273.    O.F.  doute. 
douter,    n.,    daughter :     S 

339,  etc.    O.E.  dohtor. 
draw,  v.,  draw.  pres.  subj. 

2  sg.,  draw,  C  268  ;  pret. 

3  sg.,  drew,  C  88  }  drou, 
V  277.   O.E.  dragan. 

dred,  adj.,  afraid:  S  409. 
Aphetic  Jorm  from  M.E. 
adrad,  O.E.  ofdrsed(d). 

drede,  n.,  dread,  fear: 
dat.,  V  89.  M.E.  noun 
from  O.E.  verb  drsedan. 

dreri-mod,  adj.,  sad  in 
heart:  S  149.  M.E.  com- 
pound, O.  E.  dreorig  + 
m5d. 

dri3tte,  n.,  Lord:  S  408. 
O.E.  dryhten. 

drinke,  v.,  drink:  infin., 
V  795  pret.  3  sg.,  dronk, 
V  93.  O.E.  drincan. 

drinke,  n.,  drink:  S  133, 
V  143  5  drunche,  V  14  ; 
pl.,drynkes,Cn8.  O.E. 
drinc,  str.  m. ,  drinca,  w.  m. 

driuen,  pret.  part.,  driven: 
S  247.  O.E.  drifan. 

drou,  see  draw. 


drunche,  see  drinke. 

drofe,  v.,  drove:  pret.  3 
pi.,  C  158.  O.E.  drifan. 

dude,  see  do. 

duell,  v.,  dwell:  infin.,  C 
82  ;  pret.  3  pi.,  duellyd, 
C  87.  O.E.  dwellan. 

duntes,  n.,  blows,  strokes: 
pi.,  V  295 -,  dyntes,  C 
444.  O.E.  dynt. 

dyde,  v.,  see  do. 

dyght,  pret.  part.,  made 
ready  :  C  242,  2575 
dyjht,  C  1 6 8,  540.  O.E. 
dihtan. 

dy^ed,  dyed,  v.,  died:  pret. 
3  sg.,  C  57,  306.  Early 
M. E.  dejen.  O. N.  deyja. 

dyntes,  see  duntes. 

dyuerse,  adj.,  divers,  dif- 
ferent kinds  of:  C  99. 
O.F.  divers(e). 

eddre,  n.,  vein  :  V  45, 
heddre,V4ji  O.E.  sedre. 

ede,  v.,  went:  pret.  3  sg., 
V69;  hede,  8347,  380, 
V  2 7 5.  O.E.  code,  see  go, 
gon. 

efft-sones,  adv.,  again:  S 
384.  O.E.  eft  sona. 

egre,  adj.,  eager:  V  289. 
O.F.  egre,  aigre. 

eien,  n.,  eyes:  pi.,  S  2815 


107 


heien,    S    3575  heie-ren- 

ning,  S  283.    O.E.  cage, 
eillej?,  v.,  aileth:  pres.  3  sg., 

S  337.    O.E.  eglan. 
eke,  conj.,  also:  S  159,327. 

O.E.  eac. 
eldyst,  adj.,  eldest \  superl., 

C  243.    O.E.  ieldest. 
elles-wer,  adv.,  elsewhere: 

V2o8.    O.E.elleshwaer. 
els,  conj.,  else:  €265,  348. 

O.E.  elles. 
ende,  n.,  end:  862,  €576. 

O.E.  ende. 

enderdai,   n.,    a   day   re- 
cently  past    (N.  E.  D.)t 

other  day:  S  366.   M.E. 

compound,  O.  N.  endr-f- 

O.E.  daeg. 
enes,   adv.,    once:   S   383. 

Early  M.E.  aenes;  O.E. 

sene. 

eni,  see  ani. 
entente,   n.,   intent,  plan, 

purpose:  C  240,486,^561. 

O.F.  entente, 
ernde,  n.,  errand,  business: 

S  347 j  hernde,  840,  97, 

214,   226,   410.     O.  E. 

ierende. 
erne,  v.,  run:  infin.,  V  16. 

O.E.  iernan. 
erour,  adv.,  before:   V  4. 

O.E.  aeror. 


io8 


croust,  adv.,  first-.  V  16, 
124.  O.E.  aerest. 

erfe,  n.,  earth:  S  107,  325, 
416;  erth,  C  378.  O.E. 
eorfte, 

esyly,  adv.,  easily.  C  245. 
O.  F.  aisie,  p.  p. 

eten,  v.,  eat:  infm.,S  2795 
pret.  3  pi.,  hete,  V  1565 
pret.  part.,  I-ete,  V  98, 
1695  etc,  C  157.  O.E. 
ctan. 

ej>e,  adv. ,  easily :  S  3 3 8.  O. 
E.  ea>e. 

euch,  euche,  adj.,  each, 
every:  V  101,  224,  285. 
O.E.  «lc. 

cue,  n.,  eve:  C  85.  O.E. 
afen. 

euele,  adv.,  ev il,  ill:  S  1 73, 
etc.  O.E.  yfel. 

euensong,  n.,  vespers:  C 
z6z.  O.E.  aefen-sang. 

euer,  euere,  adv. ,  ever :  S  26 
etc.,  V  141,  C  115,  141, 
149,  190, etc.  O.E.  zEfre. 

euer-lastyng,  adj.,  ever- 
lasting: C  177,  etc. 

euer-more,  adv.,  ever- 
more: S  385. 

euery,  adj.,  every:  €22, 
37,  80,  104,  105,  etc. 
O.E.  aefrc,  selc. 

euery chon,    pron.,    every 


one:C  185;  heuereuchon, 
V  270. 

euyn,  adv.,  even:  C  468. 
O.E.  efne. 

fader,  father:  C  5,  246. 
O.E.  feder. 

faille,  n.,/*;7:  S  187.  O.F. 
faillir. 

fain,  adv.,  gladly:  S  309, 
393.  O.E.  fsegen,  adj. 

fair,  adj.,  fair:  S  6;  feir,  S 
3395  feyr,  C  19,  371$ 
feyre,  C  n,  3815  corn- 
par.,  feiror,  S  3405  su- 
perl.,  feyrest,  C  311. 
O.E.  fseger. 

faire,  adv.,  fair:  S  i6oj 
feyre,  C  234,  371.  O.E. 
faegre. 

fallen,  v.yfall:  pres.  3  sg., 
failed,  S  3065  pret.  3  sg., 
fell,  C  89,  148,  befell, 
happened,  C  855  pret. 
part. ,  fallyn,  C  1 7  j  fallyd, 
€96.  O.E.  feallan. 

fals,  adj. ,/«//*:  C  308.  O. 
F.  fals. 

falsdom,  n.,  falsehood:  S 
65.  M.  E.  compound. 
Earliest  citation  in  N.E. 
£>.,  1297. 

falsete,  n., falseness:  S  loz. 
O.F.  falsete. 


109 


fare,  v.,  fare,  go:  infin., 
S  152,  V  141,  C  z36} 
pres.  i  sg.,  fare,  S  173, 
V  202.  O.E.  faran. 

fast,  adv.,  quickly.  €325, 
563.  O.E.  faeste,  adv. 

faste,  v.,  pret.  3  sg.,  fasted: 
S  324.  O.E.  fsesten. 

fe,  n.,  money,  property:  S 
382,  C  18,  437.  O.E. 
feoh. 

fecche,  v.,  fetch:  infin.,  S 
314;  pret.  subj.  2  sg., 
feche,  S  386.  O.E.  fec- 
can* 

fede,  v.,feed,  nourish,  sus- 
tain: pres.  i  sg.,  S  208, 
32 1  j  pret.  i  sg.,  fedej  C 
114.  O.E.  fedan. 

fcire,  n.,fair:  S  77.  O.F. 
feire. 

fele,  adj.,  many:  V  i66j 
felle,  C  4o6(?).  O.E. 
fela. 

fere,  n.,  companion, friend: 
V  120,  C  125$  I-fere,  V 
172,  185.  O.E.  gefera, 
m. 

fere,  n.,  companionship:  in 
the  phrase,  in  fere,  to- 
gether^ C  aoi.  O.E. 
geter,  n. 

ferli,  adj.,  wonderful:  S 
277.  O.E.  fserllc. 


ferre,  adv.,  far:  €207,489. 
O.E.  feor. 

fest,  n.,  feast:  C  38,  44, 
495  feste,  C  71,  4125  ac. 
pi.,  festes,C  55,  595  feste, 
C6i.  O.F.  feste. 

festyd,  v.,  feasted:  pret. 
3  sg.,  C  64.  O.  F.  fes- 
ter. 

fete,  n.,  feet:  pi.,  C  314. 
O.E.  fet. 

fetour,  n.,  feature:  C  n. 
O.F.  failure. 

feyle,  n.,  fail,  doubt:  C 
390.  O.F.  faile,  faille. 

feylyng,  v.  a.,  fail:  C  384. 

fey  re,  adj.,  adv.  j  see 
fair(e). 

finden,  \.,Jind:  infin.,  S  34 j 
finde,  S  3165  fonde,  S 
3425  pret.  i  sg.,  foud 
(scribal  error?),  V  162$ 
pret.  3  sg.,  fond,  V  21, 
93,  294,  C  200 j  founde, 
S  407,  V  73,  92  j  found, 
C  2 1 9  5  pret.  part. ,  founde, 
84225  founden,  invented 
(Matzner),  S  203.  O.E. 
findan. 

fiue,  num.,^1/^:  V  29.  O. 
E.  fif. 

fle,  v.,fly:  imper.  2  sg.,  V 
385  pret.  part.,  flowen,  V 
3^.  O.E.  fleogan. 


no 


fles,  n.,meat:  S  327.   O.E. 

flaesc. 
flet,  K.,  floor:  S  273.  O.E. 

flet(t). 
flok,  n.,  flock-.  V  29.    O.E. 

flocc. 
flore,n.,/o<?r:  S  102.  O.E. 

flor. 

flowen,  see  fle. 
fode,  n.,  food:  C  119.    O. 

E.  foda. 

fol,n.,/oo/:Sii5.  O.F.fol. 
fol,  adv.,  see  ful. 
folewe,  v.,  follow,  infin., 

S  350.  O.E.  folgian. 
fomen,  n.,foes:  pi.,  V  288. 

O.E.  fahman. 
fond,  fonde,  v.,  see  finden. 
fonde,  v.,  try:  infin.,  S  241, 

393.    O.E.  fandian. 
for,  prep.,  for:  835,  etc., 

057,  113,119,  455,etc.j 

because  of,  C   34.    O.E. 

for,  fore. 
for,  conj.,  for:  S  79,  €96, 

304,  450,  506. 
forderen,   v.,   to    promote, 

advance:  pret.  3  sg.,  for- 

deryd,  €73.    O.E.  fyrS- 

r(i)an. 
foreward,    n.,    agreement, 

covenant,    S  256.     O.E. 

foreweard. 
for3elde,     v.,    prcs.    subj. 


3Sg.,  pay,  requite:  S  37, 
326,  415,  V  226.  O.E. 
for^i(e)ldan. 

for-jeue,  v.,  forgive:  infin., 
V  1755  forgiue,  S  334; 
pres.  i  sg., for^eue,V  225  5 
imper.  2  sg.,  forjef,  V 
209.  O.E.  forgi(e)fan. 

for^euenesse,  n.,  relenting: 
V  295.  O.E.  forgifnes, 
forgyfenes,  etc. 

forhelen,  v.,  conceal:  p.p. 
forholen,  S  237.  O.E. 
forhelan. 

forsake,  v.,  forsake:  pret. 
part,  forsake,  V 1 7  7.  O.  E. 
forsacan. 

forsape,  v.,  transform:  in- 
fin., S  369.  O.E.  for- 
sceppan. 

fort,  conj.,  until:  V  17  (for 
-j-  to),  see  for  to. 

forf,  adv.,  forth:  S  397; 
forth,  C  337.  O.E.  for>. 

for-fi,  conj.,  therefore:  S 
171,  1 80,  344,  etc.  5  for- 
J>en,  S  185.  O.E.  for  \>y. 

for  fider,  S  4115  =  forth 
-f-  Hder. 

forj?inken,  v.,  repent:  pres. 
3  sg.,  for>mke>,  S  139. 
O.E.  forftencan. 

for  to,  introducing  an  infini- 
tive: S  151,  152,  2395 


in 


forto,  C  164,   424,  4825 

for-to,    C   150.     Earliest 

citation  inN.E.D.,  1200. 
fortone,     n.,    fortune:     C 

497.    O.F.  fortune, 
foud,  found,  founden,  see 

finden. 
foure,  num.,  four:  C  470. 

O.E.  feower. 
fourti,  num.,  forty:  S  324. 

O.E.  feowertig. 
fre,  adj.,  free,  noble:  S  34, 

339,   C  114,   246,   536} 

compar.,   freour,   S  342. 

O.E.  freo. 
fre-borne,   adj. ,  free  born : 

€408. 
frely,  adv.,  freely:   C  429. 

O.E.  freolice. 
frend,  n.,  friend-.   S   152, 

185,    V  1335   pi.,  frend, 

Vi6o.    O.E.  freond. 
frere,n.,yH#r:  V  266,  271, 

279,  C  32;  pl.,freren,  V 

262.    O.F.  frere. 
fressch,  adj.,/r^:  C  379. 

O.E.  fersc. 
fro,  prep. ,  from :  S   380,  C 

176,  3°5>  335-  O.N.  fra. 
frute,    n.,  fruit:    C    2315 

fniyt,  C  206,  307.    O.F. 

fniit. 
frythe,  n.,  'wood:  C  549. 

O.E.  fyr«,  fyrhfl. 


ful,  adj.,  full:  S  1585  full, 

€24.    O.E.  ful. 
ful,     adv.,    full,    entirely, 

quite,   'very:  S   3,    34,  V 

21 5 j  fol,  S  35,  etc.}  full, 

C   108,   234,   256,   etc.; 

fulwel,  S  257,  278,450, 

V  238;  fullwele,  C  485. 

O.E.  ful. 
fallen,  v.,  fulfil:  infin.,  S 

239;    fyll,  ///,    C    230. 

O.E.  fyllan. 
fulj>e,n.,///^:  Vi65.  O.E. 

fyl«. 
furmeste,  adj.,  first:  V  21. 

O.E.  fyrmest. 
fyll,  see  fullen. 
fynd,  v.,  find:  infin.,  C  47. 

O.E.  findan. 

gabbe,  v.,  jest,  lie:  imper. 

2  sg.,V  121.   O.F.  gab- 
(b)er,  O.N.  gabba. 

gan,  v.,  did:  pret.  3  sg.,  C 
59,  146,  ±14,  etc.;  gon, 
V  i,  83,  195,  240;  pret. 

3  pi.,    gounnen,  V  283. 
Aphetic  form  of  began. 
In  this  sense  from  1200. 

gange,  v.,go,ivalk:  S  262, 
308,  437.  O.E.  gangan. 

gar, garen,  v.,make,  cause: 
infin.,  S  281,  290,  449. 
O.N.  ger(o)a. 


112 


gare-mersy,  n.,  great 
thanks,  gramercy :  0421. 
O.F.  grand  merci. 

garthyn,  n.,  garden  :  C 
187,  218.  O.N.F.  gar- 
din. 

gent,  gente,  adj.,  gentle, 
noble-.  C  253,  386.  O.F. 
gent. 

gentyll,  adj.,  gentle,  noble: 
Ci5,  25,  309,  536,  etc., 
O.F.  gentil. 

gentyll-men,  n.,  gentle- 
men: pi.,  C  65.  M.  E. 
compound.  N.  E.  D. 
1275. 

get,  n.,  goats:  pi.,  V  167. 
O.E.  gat,  get. 

gete,  v.,get:  infin.,  S  14, 
Ci55>352>geten,  84475 
subj.  i  sg.,  gete,  8234; 
O.E.  gietan,  gitan;  O.N. 
geta. 

geue,  v.,  give:  infin.,  S 
223,  3885  ?eue,  S  191; 
gyfF,  C  287,5135  pres.  2 
sg.,  jeuest,  S  287;  pres. 
subj.  3  sg.,  $eue,  S  442, 
V  34;  pret.  3  sg.,  ?aue,  C 
2905  ^affe,  04615  gafe,  C 
451*  55°,  5545  gaff,  C 
l8>  454;  gaffe,  C  5415 
pret.  part.,  I-giuen.  O.E. 
gifan. 


geyst,  n.,  geste,  tale:  C 
484.  O.F.  geste. 

gift,  n.,gift:  S  2235  gyft, 
c  4°  55  gyfte>  c  346> 
467,  4795  pl->  giftes>  s 
3885  gyftes,  C  50,  282. 
O.E.  gift. 

gin,  ginne,  n.,  trick,  clev- 
erness, contrivance,  trap : 
S  289,  V  72,  77,  82,  86, 
103,  125.  O.F.  engin. 

gistninge,  n.,  dat.,  feast, 
banquet  (Matzner)  :  V 
255.  Scand.  Cf.  O.  Sw. 
gastning. 

glad,  adj.:  S   328,  402,  V 

*49>  C  3°>  I24,  J36> 
397,  etc.  O.E.  glaed. 

gladly,  adv.:  €244.  O.E. 
glasdlice. 

go,  gon,  v.,  go,  walk:  in- 
fin., go,  S  185,  297,  319, 
Vi,etc.,C  146,239,259, 
272,  etc.  j  go  =  walk,  C 
474J  gon,  S  135,  156, 
417,  Vio8,  283,  C  50, 
1845  pres.  subj.  3  sg., 
go,  €4205  i  p].,  go,  C 
1395  pres.  imper.  2  sg.  ,go, 
C  2965  pret.  3  sg.,  went, 
C  292,  324,  etc.  5  wente, 
C  1 86,  277,  2905  pret. 
3  pi.,  went,  C  154,  161, 
167,  etc.;  wente,  €1785 


pret.  part.,  gon,  S  76 j 
gon  =  ago,  C  5005  I- 
gon,  S  80,  etc.  See  also 
ede,  hede.  O.E.  gan, 
wendan. 

God,  pr.  n.,  God-.  S  25, 
315,  etc.,  C  176,  179, 
etc.;  goed,  S  210,  314, 
3J7,  3^2,  3305  gen.  sg., 
godes,  S  197,  V  56,  57, 
C  164;  dat.  Code,  V 
158.  O.E.  God. 

gode,  adj.,  good:  S  300,  V 

172,  C   51,    118,   229, 
etc.  j  god,  82855  goed,  V 

173.  O.E.  god. 

gode, n.,  goods,  wealth:  V 
147,  €58,  68,  419,  425$ 
goed,  V  i6ijgod,  C  70, 
*55>  godes,  C  137.  O.E. 
god. 

Goder-hele,  in  phr.  to 
goder  hele,  to  (your)  good 
fortune:  8261;  used  like 
a  nom.  sg.,  goder-hele, 
S  269.  La$.  to  godere 
Hre  haele  =  O.  E.  to  godre 
fe&Je. 

gode  sir,  n.,  like  A.  F. 
beau  sir,  dear  sir:  €271. 

godlec,  n.,  goodness,  bene- 
fit: S  227.  O.  N.  go$- 
leik-r. 

godnedai,  phr.,  good  day: 


accus.  sg.,S  145;  goddai, 
S  397. 

godnes,  n.,  goodness:  €29; 
good,  C  5745  good  for- 
tune, C  224.  O.E.  god- 
nes. 

goed,  n.,good:  S  252,  V  39, 
46}  god,  8285.  O.E.god. 

gold,  n.,  gold:  C  18,  53, 
288.  O.E.  gold. 

gome,  n.,  sport:  V  24.  O. 
E.  gam  en. 

gon,  v. ,  pret.  3  sg. ,  see  gan. 

gore,  n.,  front  section  of  a 
skirt,  wider  at  bottom  than 
at  top,  by  synecdoche, 
skirt,  petticoat,  gown : 
under  gore  =  under  one' s 
clothes  (N.E.D.):  S  5. 
O.E.  gara. 

gossip,  n.,  sponsor  in  bap- 
tism: V  1 1 6,  208,  etc. 
O.E.  godsibb. 

gounnen,  see  gan. 

gouflich,  adj. ,  goodly  of  ap- 
pearance, handsome:  S  5. 
O.E.  godlic. 

grace,  n.,  grace:  C  497. 
O.F.  grace. 

gradde,  v.,  cried  out:  pret. 
3  sg.,  V  282. 

grante,  v.,  grant:  infin., 
C  362;  pres.  subj.  2  sg., 
grante,  S  375,  C  344} 


graunte,C286,3i6;3Sg., 
grante,  83625  pres.  imper. 
2sg.,grante,  C357;pret. 
3  sg.,  grantyd,  C  3205 
pret.  part.,  grantyd,  C 
238,  506.  O.F.  graunter. 

grantise,  n.,  grant,  con- 
cession: S  414.  O.  F. 
grantise. 

grantyng,  n.,  granting, 
boon:  C  43 4 j  granteyng, 
€440. 

grasyos,  adj.,  gracious: 
C  172.  O.F.  gracious. 

gref,  n.,  reluctance:  836. 
O.F.  grief,  gref. 

gren,  adj.,  green:  C  200. 
O.E.  grene. 

gret,  adj.,  great:  sing., 
V  1 68  j  pi.,  grete,  V  155, 
290;  sg.  andpl.,  grete,  C 
5,  31,  104,  221,  282, 
292,  etc.  O.E.  great. 

grete,  v. ,  greeted :  pret.  3  sg. , 
C  465$  grette,  S  160. 
O.E.  gretan. 

greten,  v.,  pres.  3  pi., 
<weep:  S  357.  O.E.  gras- 
tan. 

grette,  v.,  see  grete. 

greuans,  n.,  ill  fortune:  C 
222.  O.F.  grevance. 

greue,  v.,  grieve:  infin.,  S 
59  j  pret.  3  sg.,  greuyd, 


C  442  5  pret.  part. ,  greuyd, 

refl.,C45o.  O.F.  grever. 
grew,  v.,  see  grow, 
grif,    n.,    peace:    S    267 j 

grythe,  C  299,  546.    O. 

E.  grift,  O.N.  grift. 
grome,  n.,  anger,  wrath: 

S  197.   O.E.  grama. 
ground,  n., ground:  C375; 

dat.,  grounde  =  bottom, 

V  74,  91.    O.E.  grund. 
grow,  v^grow.  pres.  3  pi., 

C  204  5  pres.  part. ,  grow- 

yng,  €3785  pret.  3  sg., 

grew,     C     307.        O.E. 

growan. 
grym,  adv.,  grimly:  €526. 

O.E.  grim, 
grymly,    adv.,    grimly:    C 

465.   O.E.  grimllce. 
grythe,  n.,  see  grif. 
gyft,  n.,  see  gift, 
gytherners,  n.,  player  on 

the gittern:  C  101.  O.F. 

guitern. 

}are,  adv., /or  «  long  time: 
V  169.  O.E.  geara. 

^are,  adv.,  readily,  quickly: 
C  469.  O.E.  gearo. 

}at,  n.,  gate:  V  20;  $ate,  C 
284.  O.E.  geat. 

je,  pers.  pron.,ye,you:  C  i, 


ou,  V  215;  jou,  C  377, 
etc.;  accus.,  ou,  V  214, 
21 6  j  3011,  C  272,  etc.  j 
gen.,  jour,  C  303,  407, 
408,  etc.  j  of  $oure,  of 
yours,  C  495.  O.E.  $e, 
eower,  eow. 

36,  affirm,  part. , yea :  8232, 
V  176,  207,  C  538.  O. 
E.  gea. 

3ef,  }if,  conj.,  //:  jif,  S 
595  ^f,  V  98,  204;  if, 
S  32,  52,  etc.,  C  49oj 
yff,  C  208,  268;  if  >at, 
S  525  ?if  >at,  S  59;  $eif 
>at,  S  443.  O.  E.  gif. 
See  if. 

jelpe,  v.,  boast-,  infin.,  S 
227.  O.E,,  gielpan. 

jenge,  adj.,  see  $ong. 

}er,  n.,year:  pi.  jer,  S  675 
sing.  &  pi.  jere,  €37, 
55,  64,  204,  205,  571. 
O.E.  gear. 

^erne,  ^v. y earnestly 9eager- 
/y:Si3,Vi5,93.  O.E. 
georne,  adv. 

}et,  adv., yet:  S  in,  404, 
V  153.  O.E.  giet. 

}eue,  v.,  see  geue. 

3if,  conj.,  see  }ef. 

^irne,  v.,  desire:  pres.  subj. 
2  sg.,  ^irne,  S  45.  O.E. 
giernan. 


30!,  n.,  Tule,    Christmas:  S 

1 1 6.    O.E.  geol,  geohol. 
,    adj.,  young:    sing., 

S  361,-  pi.,  png,  C  566; 

pi.,  ^enge,  C  517.    O.E. 

geong. 

,  v.,  go:  infin.,  V  61. 

See  gonge. 
^urstendai,  n.,  yesterday: 

S  73.     O.E.  geostran  -f- 

daeg. 
^us,  adv., yes:  S  294.  O.E. 

gise,  gese. 

ha,  pers.  pron,  see  hoe. 
haiward,   n.,   hedge  war- 
den, hay  ward:  V  26.  M. 

E. compound.  O.E.  hege 

+  O.E.  weard. 
hakney,    n.,    hackney:     C 

251.   O.F.  haquenee. 
half  so,  adv.,  half  so:  V  4. 

O.E.  healf  swa. 
halle,    n.,  hall :   S   22,  C 

314,  3265  hall,  C  324, 

325.   O.E.  heall. 
halp,  see  helpe. 
han,  see  haue. 
hang,    v.,    hung:    pret.    3 

pi.,   C   153.    O.E.   hon, 

heng. 
harde,  adv.,  hard,  strongly: 

S    204,    V   195.      O.  E. 

hearde. 


n6 


harper,  n.,  harper-.  C  4845 
herper,  C  4875  pi.,  her- 
pers,  C  1 01.  O.E.  hear- 
pere. 

haue,  v.,  haw.  mfin.,  haue, 
S  164,  C  36,  225,  2825 
hauen,  S  1965  ban,  V  875 
hafe,  C  2355  pres.  i  sg., 
haue,  858,  424,  C  143, 
205,  207,  etc.}  habbe, 
S  67,  V  200,  201,  203, 
210$  habe,  S  91;  have, 
V  40  j  pres.  2  sg. ,  hauest, 
S  194,  256,  268,  V  47, 
54,  173,  l85»  *445  hast, 
C  411,  4125  has  >ou?,  C 
355;  pres.  3  sg.,  haue>, 
S  112,  214,  2 1 6,  etc.,  V 
122,  1685  hath,  C  231; 
pres.  3  pi.,  haueb,  S  3105 
pres.  subj.  2  sg.,  haue, 
851,  1455  pres.  subj.  i 
pi.,  haue,  C  226;  im- 
per.  2  sg.,  haue,  S  270$ 
pret.  i  sg.,  heuede,  S 
339,  v  1345  3  sg., 
heuede,  S  9,  422,  V  68, 
etc.  j  hedde,  ¥2855  hede, 
V  288;  had,  C  7,  25, 
2  9,  etc. ;  held,  regard- 
ed, C  5035  pret.  3  pi., 
had,  C  137,  157;  pret. 
subj.  i  sg.,  hedde,  V 
1 35  J  2  sg«,  hade,  *wouldst 


have,  0438;  heuedest,  S 
250,  V 1 77.  O.E.habban, 
hsefde. 

haui,  haue  +  I. 

he,  pers.  pron. :  nom.,  he,  S 
4,  7,  etc.,  V  3,  5,  etc., 
C  7,  10,  etc.  5  dat.,  him, 
S  142,  V  2,  etc.  j  hym, 
C  36,  56,  75,  etc.j  ac- 
cus.,  him,  813,  94,  V 
114,  259,  etc.j  hym,  C 
23,  123,  124,  etc.  j  hine, 
V  123.  O.E.  he,  his, 
him,  hine. 

heddre,  see  eddre. 

hede,  v.,  see  ede. 

hede,  n.,  see  heued. 

hedlyng,  adv.,  headlong: 
€360.  M.E.  formation 
from  O.E.  heafod  +  O.E. 
-ling.  Cf.  O.E.  biding. 

heie,  heien,  see  eien. 

heie-renning,  n.,  running 
at  the  eyes:  S  283.  Not 
cited  in  N.E.D. 

hei^tte,  v.,  is  named:  pret. 
3  sg.,  S  177;  heyte,  V 
271;  pret.  3  sg.,  hyght, 
C  28}  pret.  part.,  hy^t, 
C  7.  O.E.  hatan,  het. 

held,  see  holden. 

hele,  see  goder-hele. 

helen,  v.,  conceal:  infin.,  S 
241,  253.  O.E.  helan. 


help,  n.,  help:  S  164,  236, 
371.  O.E.  help. 

helpe,  v.,  help:  infin.,  S 
188,210,  228}  pres.3  sg., 
helpys,  C  127$  pres.  3 
pi.,  helpen,  S  2115  im- 
per.  2  sg.,  help,  S  22 ij 
pret.  3  sg.,  halp,  V  84. 
O.E.  helpan. 

hem,  pers.  pron.,  see  hy. 

hen,  n.,  hen:  accus.  sg.,  V 
7j  nom.  pi.,  hennen,  V 
*8>  32»  SSigen-P1-*  hen- 
nen, V  40.  O.E.  henn, 
hen. 

hende,  adj.,  gracious,  cour- 
teous: S  119,  154;  hend, 
C  570.  O.E.  gehende. 

hende,  adv.,  graciously:  S 
6 1.  O.E.  gehende. 

hente,  v. ,  took :  pret.  3  sg. , 
C  123,  278.  O.E.  hen- 
tan. 

her,  adv.,  here:  S  68,  194, 
252,  etc.,  V  1405  here,  C 
217,  488,  etc.  O.E.  her. 

her-bifore,adv.,  heretofore: 
¥222.  O.E.her-f-befor- 
an. 

herdy,  adj.,  hardy,  bra<ve: 
C  3,  3*9,  537-  O.  F. 
hardi. 

here,  pers.  pron.,  see  hy. 

here,  v.,  hear:  infin.,  C  i, 


117 


482,    488,    etc.;   pres.  i 

sg.,   here,    V   128;   pret. 

i    sg.,    herde,    82,    73; 

herd,  €1265  pret.  3  sg., 

herde,   V   1705   herd,    C 

98,    1 045  inf.,  I-here,  S 

368,  V  1 86;  pres.  i  sg., 

I-here,    V  119;   pret.    3 

sg.,I-herde,Vu3.  O.E. 

(ge)hieran. 
her-inne,  adv.,  herein :  S  25, 

V  104;  her-in,  S  321.    O. 

E.  herinne. 
herknen,  v.,  listen:  infin., 

S  50.    O.E.  hercnian. 
herlot,  n.,  rascal:  €355. 

O.  F.     herlot,     (h)arlot, 

vagabond. 

hernde,  n.,  see  ernde. 
hernest,  n.,  real  meaning: 

S  230.   O.E.  eornust. 
herpers,  see  harper, 
herte,  n.,  heart:  S  10,  356, 

360;  hert,  C  190.     O.E. 

heorte. 
hertely,  adv.,  heartily:   C 

409.  In  N.E.D.  first  qu. 

fr.  Cursor  Mundi. 
Hertou,  art  thou,   see  be, 

ben. 

hete,  see  eten. 
hefen,  adv.,  hence:  S  295. 

O.N.  heSan. 
hefer,  see  hider. 


n8 


heiied,   n.,   head-.   S  335$ 

hede,  C  266,  299.  O.E. 

heafod. 

heuede,  v.,  see  haue. 
heuene,  n., heaven:  S  325, 

4165  heuen,  C  575.   O. 

E.  heofon. 
heuene-blisse,  n.,  bliss  of 

Heaven-.  V  233. 
heuene-king,n.,  Heaven's 

King:   S   31,  895  heuen- 

kyng,  C  109.    O.E.  heo- 

foncyning. 
heuereuchon,    pron.,    see 

euerychon. 

heui,  adj.,  heavy,  sad,  de- 
pressed: V  2785  heuy,   C 

322.    O.E.  hefig. 
hey,  adv.  phrase,    on  hey, 

on  high,  to  a  height:    V 

31.     O.E.  heah,  see  hy. 
hie,  see  I. 
hider,  adv.,  hither:  S  180, 

261;  heber,  €330.   O.E. 

hider. 
hiderward,  adv.,  here:    S 

255.   O.E.  hiderweard. 
hile,  see  goder-hele. 
hine,  pers.  pron.,  see  he. 
hire,  pers.  pron.,  see  hoe. 
hire,   poss.    pron.,   her:    S 

412,  etc.  5    hyr,    C   243. 

O.E.    hiere,    hire.     See 

hoe. 


his,  hiis,  v.,  see  be. 

his,  poss.  pron.,  his:  S  10, 
etc.,  C  58,  3125  hys 
(sing.  &  pi.),  C  61,  62, 
74,  152,  etc.  O.E.  his. 

hit,  pron.,  it:  S  28,  45, 
60,  etc.,  V  46,  60,  etc.  j 
it,  C  88,  165  j  yt,  C 
321,  441,  etc.  O.E.  hit. 

hoe,  pers.  pron. ,  she:  nom., 
hoe,  820,  23,  179,  etc.; 
ha,  S  362;  dat.,  hire,  S 
ioj  hyr,  C  146;  accus., 
hire,  S  14,  151,  etc.  O. 
E.  heo,  hire,  hire,  hie. 
See  sche. 

hoe,  pi.,  see  hy. 

hoeld,  v.,  see  held. 

hof,  prep.,  see  of. 

hofjmrst,  adj.,  (of-f>urst), 
thirsty:  V  274.  See  a- 
Jmrst,  V  66  j  see  afmgret, 
p.  p.  O.  E.  of>yrsted,  of- 
>yrst,  p.  p. 

holde,  adj.,  see  olde. 

holden,  v.,  hold:  infin.,  S 
71;  hold,  C  38,  61,  91, 
546}  pres.  i  sg.,  hold, 
regard,  consider,  €14252 
sg. ,  oldest,  S  1 1 5  j  pret. 
3  sg.,  hoeld,  V  5;  3  pi. , 
held,  C  55 j  p.p.,  hold, 
regarded,  considered,  C 
565.  O.E.  heal  dan. 


119 


holi,adj.,  holy.  §  205,  2545 

holy,  C  1 35.    O.E.  halig. 
horn,  n.,  home:  S  97,  etc., 

V  34,   C   1785   home,  C 

180,  556.   O.E.  ham. 
horn-come,  n., homecoming: 

S  293.   O.E.  hamcyme. 
hon,  prep.,  see  on. 
bond,  n. ,  hand :  dat.  ,€196, 

1985    honde,    S   240,   V 

102}  pi.,  hondes,  C  95, 

1 06.    O.E.  hand,  hond. 
hondred,   num.,    hundred: 

S  1045  hundryth,  0555. 

O.  E.    hundred,    North. 

hundraft,  hundred,  n. 
hongi,  v.  intr.,  hang:  infin., 

V  88,  232;  pret.  3  pi., 

hang,  C  1 5 3 .    O.E.  han- 

gianj  hon,  heng. 
honour,  n.,  honor:  C  377. 

O.F.  honur. 
honouren,  v.,  honor:  p.  p. 

honouryd,  0412.    O.F. 

(h)onorer. 
hope,  v.,  hope:  pres.  i  sg., 

C 1 445  pret.  3sg.,hopyd, 

C  72$  hopede,  V79.   O. 

E.  hopian. 
hore,  poss.  pron.,  their:  S 

210.    O.E.  hiera}  hiora, 

heora.    See  hy. 
hore,  n.,  whore:  899.    O. 

N.  hora.   O.H.G.  huora. 


hors,  n.,  horse:  C  248}  pi., 

€52.    O.E.  hors. 
hote,    v.,    command:    pres. 

i  sg.,    V  36.    O.E.    ha- 

tan. 
hou,  conj.,  how.  S  14,  292, 

etc.}    ou,  V  230.    O.E. 

hu. 
hounbinde,     v.,      unbind: 

pres.  subj.  3   sg.,  S  315. 

O.E.  un+  bindan. 
houncurteis,  adj.,  uncour- 

teous:  S  46.    O.E.   un  + 

O.F.  corteis. 
houndes,  n.,  dogs:   V  290, 

O.E.  hund. 

hounderstonde,  v.,  under- 
stand: infin.,  82635  pret. 

3  sg.,  hounderstod,  V  77. 

O.E.  understandan. 
houne,  adj.,  see  ouene. 
houngeryn.9  hunger:  S  310, 

312}  V  13,  68,  i68,etc.; 

honger,Vii2.  O.E.  hun- 

gor. 
hounlawe,    n.,    wrong:  S 

60.     M.E.    word,    O.E. 

un  -j-  O.E.  lagu. 
hounsele,      n.,      unhappi- 

ness:  S  175.    O.E.  unssel, 

m. 

houp,  adv.,  see  oup. 
houre,  poss.  pron.,  our:  S 

31,  89,   236,  408,  etc., 


120 


V  35,  59.  See  cure.  O.E. 
ure. 

hous,  n.  j  house  18273,  V 1 1 , 
27;  house,  S  92,  V  261. 
O.E.  hus. 

hous,  i  pers.  pron.,  see  ous. 

houssebonde,  hosse- 
bande,  n.,  husband-.  S 
1375  hossebande,  S  341. 
1.  O.  E.  husbonda.  O.N. 
husbondi. 

houssewif,  n.,  housewife-. 
8361.  M.E.  compound  : 
first  qu.  fr.  Ancren 
Riwle. 

houssong,  n.,  matins-.  V 
265,  2705  houssonge,  V 
274.  O.E.  uhtsong. 

houte,  adv.,  see  oute. 

how-fat-euer,  adv.,  how- 
ever :  C  420.  Not  cited  in 
N.E.D. 

hundryth,  see  hondred. 

hy,  pers.  pron.,  3  pi.,  they. 
¥41,  42,  204,  2 83;  hoe, 
V  264,  2685  gen.,  here, 
V  43,  265,  267,  274; 
hoere,  V  272;  hore,  S 
210  j  dat.,  hem,  S  210, 
212,  V  45;  accus.,  hem, 
V  162,  267;  Ime  (?),  V 
264.  O.  E.  hie  (hy), 
hiera  (hiora,  heora),  him. 
See  J?ei,  and  J>er. 


hy,  hye,  adj.,  high-.  C  10, 

422,    498.    O.E.    heah. 

See  hey. 

hye,  pers.  pron.,  see  hoe. 
hy^ht,  v.,  promised:   pret. 

3  sg.,  €468;  pret.  3  pi., 

hyght,  owed,  C  562.  O.  E. 

hatan,  he(h)t. 
hyght,  hy^t,   <was  named, 

see  hei3tte. 
hym-selue,  pron.,  himself } 

he-,  nom.,  C  63. 

I,  pron.,  i  pers.,  I:  S  32, 
47,  50,  etc.,  C  112, 
142,  etc.}  ich,  S  2,  26, 
etc.,  V  36,  103,  119, 
128,  132,  133,  162;  ihc, 
S  148,  V  159;  hie,  S 
237;  Y,  C  in,  114, 
219,  220,  ^298,  315, 
etc.;  dat.  sing.,  me,  S 
42,  V38,  C  286;  accus. 
sing.,  me,  S  29,  C  272, 
etc.  O.E.  ic,  mm,  me, 
me(c). 

I-bede,  p.  p.,  see  bidde. 

I-ben,  p.  p.,  see  be. 

I-blessi,  see  blesse. 

I-boen,  part,  adj.,  ready.  S 
434.  Prefix  i  -j-  O.  Dan. 
boin. 

I-bonden,  part,  adj.,  bound: 
harde  ibonden,  <  hard 


121 


pressed,*  <in  straits/  S 
204.  See  bind. 

I-brout,  see  bringen. 

ich,  see  I. 

iche,  see  like. 

I-clo]?ed,  see  closed. 

I-crope,  v.,  crept-,  pret. 
part.,V28.  O.E.  creopan. 

I -do,  i-don,  p.  p.,  see  do. 

I-ete,  see  eten. 

if,  see  jef. 

I-faie,  adv., gladly.  V  199. 
O.E.  gefaegen. 

I-fere,  see  fere. 

I-gon,  see  go(n). 

i-here,  see  here. 

I-kaut,  v.,  caught:  p.  p., 
V86,  103.  O.F.  cachier. 

I-knede,  p.  p.,  kneaded:  V 
256.  O.E.  cnedan. 

I-kneu,  see  knowen. 

I-knowe,  p.  p.,  confessed: 
V  182.  M.E.  cnawenn, 
qu.  fr.  Orm.  etc.  in  the 
sense  of  acknowledge, 
confess ;  cf.  M.  E.  a- 
knowe,  O.E.  oncnawan. 

ilke,  adj.,  each,  every:  S 
208,  3075  same,  very, 
S  289,  V  47,  99,  271, 
etc.;  Iche,  each,  C  512. 
O.E.  selc. 

I-loke,  p.  p.,  locked:  V  20. 
O.E.  lucan. 


I-loued,  see  loue. 

I-maked,  see  make. 

I  me  (?),  V  264,  refl.  pron. 
accus.  constr.  after  arisen. 
Cf.  hy ;  or  =  inne  (Maetz- 
ner),  prep.,  in. 

I-munt,  p.  p.,  meant,  in- 
tended: V  244.  O.  E. 
myntan. 

in,  prep.,  in:  S  6,  15,  etc., 
V  25,  82,  etc.,  C  105, 
etc.;  yn,  C  4,  14,  104, 
etc.;  ine,  V  138,  162, 
163,  C  134;  ime  (?),  V 
264.  O.E.  in. 

in,  inne,  adv.,  in,    inside: 

S   20,   300,  V   22,  23,  25, 

etc.  O.E.  in. 
in-dede,   adv.,    indeed:    C 

499. 
inne,  n.,  house:  819,  299, 

406.   O.E.  inn,  in. 
I-nou,  adj.,  enough:  S  93, 

¥24, 147;  I-nowe,V288. 

O.E.  genoh. 
I-nou,  adv.,  enough'.  V  79, 

83*  *59>   *?8;  I-nowje, 

0519.   O.E.  genoh. 
in-to,  prep. :  S  22,  C  324; 

yn-to,  C  177,  187.   O.E. 

into, 
in-werd,  adv.,  inward:  C 

268,  511.  O.E.  inweard. 
ioies,  pi.  see  loy. 


122 


I-seie,I-sey,I-siist,see  se. 

I-shend,  see  shend. 
I-shoed,  part,   adj.,   shod: 

S  320. 

I-sriue,  see  sriue. 
I-stounge,v.,p.p.,//mtt/, 

thrust  :     V    292.     O.  E. 

stingan 


beaten:  V  291. 

it,  pers.  pron.,  see  hit. 

I-take,  see  take. 

I-wend,  see  wene. 

I-wis,  adv.,  certainly.  S  43, 
1435  mid  I-wisse,  V234, 
293.  O.E.  gewis. 


S  215.    O.E.  wrecan. 

I-writen,  v.,  p.  p.,  writ- 

ten: V  204.  O.E.  writan. 

jentyll,  adj.,  gentle,  noble: 

C  60.    O.F.  gentil. 
Ihesu,  pr.  n.  :  C  109,  376, 

380$  Ihesu  cryst,  C  170. 
jorneye,  n..,  journey.  C  249. 

O.F.  jornee. 
loy,  n.,  joy.  C  552,  572, 

576}  pi.,   ioies,  V    1  66. 

O.F.  ioye. 
iugement,    n.,   judgment: 

S  246.    F.  jugement. 
iuperti,  n.,  venture:  S  276. 

O.F.  iu  parti. 


kare,n.,  care:  S  153,  442, 
¥34, 142,164,  etc.  O.E. 
cearu,  caru. 

kenne,  v.,  teach:  infin.,  S 
264.  O.E.  cennan. 

kepe,  v. ,  keep :  subj.  2  sg. ,  C 
1745  3  sg.,  C  176.  O.E. 
cepan. 

king,  n.,  king:  S  31,  89, 
426}  kyng,  C  274,  281, 
^87,  343,  etc.;  gen., 
kynges,  C  346.  O.  E. 
cyning. 

klene,  see  clene. 

knaue,  n.,  young  man:  S 
201.  l.O.E.  cnafa,  O.E. 
cnapa. 

kne,  n.,  knee:  C  169,  191. 
O.E.  cneo. 

kne i en,  v., kneel:  pret.  3  sg., 
knelyd,  C  169,  188,  191; 
pres.  part.,  knelyng,  C 
3  7  2, 3  7  5 . 0.  E.  cneowlian. 

kny^ht,  n.,  knight \  C  7, 
13;  knyght,  C  25,  60; 
pi,  knyghtes,  C  503. 
O.E.  cniht. 

knowen,  v.,  know.  pres. 
2  sg.,  knowyst,  €491; 
pret.  3  sg.,  kneu,  V  ii4j 
I-kneu,  ¥123;  pret-  3  pi- > 
knew,  C  5  6 6 ;  p.  p. ,  knaw, 
0528.  O.E.  cnawanjsee 
also  I-knowe,  p.p. 


kok,  n.,   cock:    V   30,    31, 

etc.   O.E.  cocc. 
kors,    n.,    curse:    V    201. 

O.E.  curs. 

kun,  kunne,  see  cunne. 
kyssen,   v.,  kiss:    pret.    3 

sg.,  kyssed,  C  124.  O.E. 

cyssan. 

lady,  n.,  lady:  C  28,  175, 

229.    O.E.  hlaefdige. 
lame,   adj.,   lame:   S    199. 

O.E.  lama. 
landes,  see  lond. 
(at  )>e)  last  ,  n.  ,  a  t  last  :  C  6  7  j 

laste,  S  141.   O.E.  latest. 
late,  v.,  see  let. 
late,  adv.,  late:  V8i.  O.E. 

tet. 
law,  n.,  la<w\  C  525.  O.E. 

lagu. 
lawe,  v.  ,  laugh  :  infin.  ,  lawe, 

840  1,-  pret.  3sg.,lou,V. 


C  517,  520.  O.E.  hleh- 
han,  &c. 

lede,  v.,lead:  infin.,  lede,  S 
2115  pres.  i  sg.,  lede,  S 

i74>  i75i  3  P1-*  led«K  s 
304.  O.E.  laedan. 

lede,  n.,  people:  C  418, 
424.  O.E.  leode. 

lef,  adj.,  see  leue. 

lefmon,  n.,  see  leuemon. 


123 

left,    v.     intr.,     remained: 

pret.    3  sg.,  C    81,    82. 

O.E.  Isefde. 
left,  v.  tr.,  left:  p.  p.,  €75. 

O.E.  laefan. 
lege,  adj.,    liege:  C.  407, 

421,493,  etc.  O.F.  lige, 

Jiege. 
leien,  v.  lay,  place:  pret.  3 

sg.,  leyd,  C  475.    O.E. 

lecgan. 

leng,  lengour,   adj.,  corn- 
par.,  longer:  S  148,  V  42; 

lenger,C  196.  O.E.  leng. 
lepen,  v. ,  leap :  imper.  2  sg. , 

lep,  V  2345  pret.  3  sg., 

lep,  ¥22,  78,  etc.    O.E. 

hleapan. 
lere,  v.,    teach:  infin.,   V 

231.    O.E.  Iseran. 
lerne,   v.,    learn:     infin., 

848;  pret.  i  sg.,lernede, 

898.    O.E.  leornian. 
les,  adj.,    less,  smaller:   C 

226,  569.    O.E.  Isessa. 
les,  n. ,  falsehood:  C  493. 

O.E.  leas, 
lese,  v.,   lose:  pres.  2   sg., 

lesest,  81345  3sg.,lese>, 

S  141,-  p.  p.,  leste,  C  70; 

lore,  C  34 ;  lorn,  C  405. 

O.E.  leosan. 
lesing,    n.,   falsehood:    S 

203,283.   O.E.  leasung. 


124 


leste,  con].,  that — not:  S 
202.  O.E.  py  laspe. 

leste,  adj.,  least,  smallest: 
pi.,  C  413.  O.E.  laest. 

leste,  v.,  see  lese. 

lete,  v.,let,  permit:  infin., 
let  bloody  V  515  pres.  i 
pi.,  late,  C  2305  pres. 
subj.  3  sg.,  lete,  S  196, 
364;  imper.  a  sg.,  let, 
S  29jlate,  C  2725  p.  p., 
leten,  V  40,  45.  O.E. 
laetan. 

lete,  v.,  leave  off,  cease ; 
infin.,  C6i.  O.E.  lettan. 

lette,  n.,  hindrance :  C 
459.  M.E.  first  qu.  from 
1175. 

lettyng,  v.  n.,  hindering: 
€291,  297.  O.E.  lettan. 
O.E.  letting. 

leue,  n.,  leave,  permission : 
858,  ¥25,0290.  O.E. 
leaf. 

leue,  adj.,  dear,  beloved:  S 
135,  i7i}lef,  8335  corn- 
par,  leuere,  liefer,  prefer- 
able, S  382,  V  75  leuer, 
C  5035  cf.  compounds: 
leuelif,  leuemon.  O.  E. 
leof. 

leue,  v.,  grant:  pres.  subj. 
3  sg.,  S  147,  212,  215. 
O.E.  llfan,  lyfan. 


leuelif,    n.,  sweetheart:  S 

3°- 

leuemon,  n«,  sweetheart, 
leman:  S  418,  4475  leu- 
mon,  S  127;  lefmon,  S 
376.  O.E.  leof+mann. 
Early  M.E.  compound. 

leuen,  v.,  leave,  abandon: 
infin.,  S  153.  O.  E. 
Ijefan. 

leute,  n.,  loyalty,  fidelity: 
S  229.  O.F.  leute,  lewte. 

leuys,  n.,  pi.  leaves \  C 
200.  O.E.  leaf. 

lew^e,  see  lawe. 

leyd,  see  leien. 

libe,  v.,  live:  infin.,  V  42; 
lyfe,  C  785  liuie,  V  165; 
pres.  i  sg.,  liue,  S  333; 
pret.  3  pi.,  lyued,  €571. 
O.E.  lifian,  libban. 

lie,  v.,  lie,  prevaricate:  in- 
fin., V  132,  imper.  2sg., 
li},  S  229.  O.E.  leogan. 

lif,  n.,  life:  S  82,  V  178, 
etc.}  lyfe,  C  26,  lyfFe,  C 
1775  liifj  V  188}  dat., 
liue,V2ii,227,  250}  pi., 
Hues,  S  304.  O.E.  lif. 

lif-dayes,  n.  pi.,  life  days-, 
V  495  lif-daie,  V  200. 
O.E.  lifdagas. 

li}t,  adj.,  easy:  V  236. 
O.E.  liht. 


liken,  v.,  please:  infin.,  S 
82;  like,  S  257.  O.  E. 
llcian. 

lim,  n.,  limb:  pi.  limes,  S 
311.  O.E.  lim. 

Lincolne-shire,  pr.  n. :  S 
78. 

liuie,  see  libe. 

lo,  interj.,  C  117.  O.E. 
la. 

loke,  v.,  look,  see  to  it  that: 
pres.  imper.  2sg.,S  357, 
398,  440,  C  21765  pret. 
3  sg.,  lukyd,  looked,  ap- 
peared, C  526.  O.E. 
locian. 

lond,  n.,  land:  C  16,  117, 
418,  424,  549;  londe 
(dat.),  S  266,  V  1015 
pi.,  landes,  C  94$  lon- 
dys,  C  548.  O.E.  land, 
lond. 

longe,  adv.,  (time),  long: 
V  280;  long,  C  356. 
O.E.  lang. 

longen,  v.,  belong:  pres.  3 
sg.,  longes,  C  119,  542. 
M.E.  longen  (first  certain 
qu.  fr.  Cursor  Mundi). 
cf.  O.E.  gelang,  adj. 

lord,  n.,  lord:  €172,  176, 
etc.,  louerd,  S  17,  31, 
etc.  5  pi.,  lordes,  C  326, 
446,  etc.  O.E.  hlaford. 


125 

lordynges,  n. ,  sirs :  pi. ,  C  i . 
M.  E.  first  qu.  fr.  Orrm 
(laferrdinngess,  pi.),  etc. 

lore,  v.,  see  lese. 

lore,  n.,  lore,  learning,  les- 
son: S  4,  264.  O.E.  lar. 

lorn,  see  lese. 

lof,  adj.,  loath,  unpleasant, 
hateful:  S  42,  V  6,  219. 
O.E.  lab. 

lou,  lou$,  see  lawe. 

loue,  n.,  love:  S  12,  etc., 
C  302.  O.E.  lufu. 

loue,  v.,  love:  infin.,  887, 
1445  louien,  S  7,  265; 
pres.  i  sg.,  loue,  82335  * 
sg.,  louest,  82315  3  sg., 
loueb,  S  94,  3625  pret.  i 
sg.,  louyd,  C  501 5 pret.  3 
sg.,  louede,  S  3435  p.  p., 
I-loued,  S  67,  178.  O.E. 
lufian. 

louerd,  n.,  see  lord. 

loue-uerc,   n., 
S  374. 

luitel,adv.,  little:  S  362,  V 
260.  O.E.  lytel. 

lukyd,  see  loke. 

lust,  n.,  desire:V  96,  100. 
O.E.  lust. 

lyde,  n.,  lid:  C  278,  310. 
O.E.  hlid. 

lyfe,  v.,  see  libe. 

lyfe,  lyffe,  n.,  see  lif. 


126 


lyften,  v.,  lift:  pret.  3  sg., 

lyfte,  0310.    Icel.  lypta. 
lyke,  conj.,  like:  C    452. 

O.E.  ge-lic. 
lyne,   v.,    cease:   infin.,    C 

133.    O.E.  linnan. 
lyre,    n.,    cheek:    C    153. 

O.E.  hleor. 
lysten,  v.,  listen:  imper.   2 

pi.,  lystyns,  C  i.     O.E. 

hlystan. 
lyte,  n.,  little:  C  69.    O.E. 

lyt. 
lytell,   adj.,    little:  C  76. 

O.E.  lytel. 
lythe,  n.,    limb  :    C    298. 

O.E.  HK 
lyued,  see  libe. 

mai,  v.,  can,  may:  pres.  i 
sg.,  mai,  S  32,  etc.,  V 
1415  may,  V  230,  C  141, 
49 6 j  2  sg.,  mait,  S  495 
mijt,  S  135,  227;  mijtt, 
S  345  maijt,  S  258,  259, 
389,  etc.;  maut,  S  221; 
may,  C  488;  mai,  S  122; 
may,  €.203,  etc.;  2  pi., 
may,  C  235;  3  pi.,  may, 
C  47;  pres.  subj.  i  sg., 
moue,  S  3 70;  pret.  i  sg., 
myght,  €511;  pret.  3 
sg.,  mijtte,  S  83,  237,  V 
ii2jmi}te,  V87;  myjht, 


C  26,  78;mou9ht,  C  339; 

3  pl.,my^ht,  €155,159; 

my^t,  €520;  pret.  subj. 

3     sg.,     moute,     S    14. 

O.E.  mugan,  maeg. 
maiden,  n.,  maiden:   S  92. 

O.E.  msegden. 
main,    n.,    strength:    dat., 

maine,  V  279.  O.E.  mae- 

gen. 
maister,   n.,    master:    V. 

206,  272.   O.F.  maistre. 
maistri,  n.,    artifice,  trick: 

8277.    O.F.  maistrie. 
make,   v.,    mate:    S    107. 

O.E.  gemaca. 
make,  v.,  make:    infin.,   S 

39,    222,     C    59,    112; 

maken,  S  142,  263;  pres. 

3  pi.,  make}?,  V  29;  pres. 

subj.  2  sg.,  make,  €300; 

i  pi.,  make,  C  140;  pres. 

imper.  2  sg.,  make,  S  240, 

328;  pres.  part.,  makyng, 

C  195;  pret.  2  sg.,  mad- 

yst,  C  no;  3  sg.,  made, 

€71,  84,  94,  etc.;  i  pi., 

made,  C  480;  3  pi.,  made, 

C  156;  p.  p.,  maked,  S 

200,  256;I-maked,  ¥72. 

O.E.  macian. 
maki,  make  +  I:  S  344. 
man,  n.,  man:  C  6,  8,  etc.; 

mon,  S  3,  71,  122,  219, 


127 


etc.,  V  285;  gen.  manus, 
C  1195  pi.,  men,  V  6,  C 
79>  35°i  gen-  pL,  men, 
S  207.  O.E.  mann. 

rnaner,  n.,  mansion:  pi., 
maners,  C  62,  74,  92. 
O.F.  manoir. 

manere,  n. ,  manner,  <way, 
kind  of-.  S  367;  maner,  C 

*Q3>  *5*>  556>  pl-  (0> 
maner,  C  559.  O.  F. 
manere. 

many,  adj.,  many.  C  103, 
571,  etc.}  many  a,  C  33, 
64,  463,  4725  moni,  S 
67,  178,  V  173;  moni 
a,  S  224.  O.E.  manig, 
monig. 

marchaundise,  n.,  mer- 
chandise. O.F.  marchan- 
dise. 

Margeri,  pr.  n. :  S  177, 
231. 

marke,  n.,  mark:  S  224. 
O.E.  mearc. 

Mary,  pr.  n. :  C  313,  3405 
seynt  Mary,  €265. 

masse,  n.,  mass:  V  252. 

may,  see  mai. 

me,  indef.  pron.,  one:  876, 
V  75.  See  mon. 

me,  pers.  pron.   See  I. 

mede,  n.,  reward:  S  166, 
191  etc.  O.E.  med. 


meding,n.,  reward:  8271. 
O.E.  med. 

meke,  adj.,  meek:  C  21. 
M.E.  meoc,  mec,  first 
qu.  fr.  Orrm. 

mekyll,  adj.,  see  muchel. 

mel,  n.,  meal:  V  1735  wib 
H  meel,  «  toward  thy 
meal,*  V247;gen.,melys, 
C  353.  O.E.  msel. 

mend,  v.,  mend,  improve: 
infin.,  C  54.  O.F. 
amender. 

menen,  v.,  I.  complain, 
lament  :  pret.  3  sg., 
ment,  C  126.  II.  mean, 
intend:  p.  p.,  mente,  C 
458.  O.E.  maenan. 

menis,  n.,  laments:  S  142. 
O.E.  mene. 

menske,  n.,  honor  :  893. 
O.N.  menniska,  human. 

merci,  n.,  mercy!:  S  127; 
mersy,  thanks,  C  421. 
O.F.  mercit,  merci. 

merueilen,  v.,  marvel: 
pret.  3  sg.,  meruylled,  C 
312.  O.F.  merveillier. 

mery,  adj.,  merry:  C  136; 
merry,  C  140,  etc.  j  merye, 
C  397.  O.E.  myrige. 

mes-auenter,  n.,  misfor- 
tune: S.  202.  O.F.  mes- 
aventure. 


128 


mete,  n.,  food-.  S  133,  280, 
3i6,Vi4,i7o,  etc.,  C  22, 
i39>I43>etc.,-pl.,metys, 
C  1 1 8.  O.E.  mete. 

mete,  v.,  meet,  encounter: 
infin.,  S  394,  V  6  j  meten, 
V  75  pres.  3  pi.,  meten,  S 
3585  pret.  3  sg.,  mette, 
S  1 5 7, V  242;  3  pi.,  mette, 
C  462.  O.E.  metan. 

mej?,  n.,  moderation:  V  97. 
O.E.  mEeK 

meyd,  n.,  maid-.  €21.  O. 
E.  maege>. 

mi,  poss.  pron.,  my.  S  30, 
91,  etc.,  V  187,  193, 
etc.;  my,  C  125,  i73j 
mine,  S  311,  405,  V  100, 
1 60,  182;  before  vowels 
or  h-,  min,  S  40,  293, 
etc.,Vi85jmyn,  C344, 
357,  431.  O.E.  mm. 

mid,    prep.,    <with:    S  93, 

i59>  v  i4>  3°>  55>    62> 

72;  mit,  S    289.      O.E. 

mid. 
mi^t,  n. ,  might :  dat. ,  mi^tte, 

8253,  405;  myjht,  Ci2. 

O.E.  miht. 
mikel,    adj.   &   adv.,    see 

muchel. 
milde,  adj.,  mild:  S.  159. 

O.E.  milde. 
mile,  n.,  mile:  pi.,  an  hon- 


dred  mile,  S  104.  O.E. 
mil. 

mis,  v.,  miss,  lose:  infin., 
S  144.  O.E.  missan. 

misdede,  n.,  misdeeds:  pi., 
V  182.  O.E.  misd^d. 

mi-selue,  reflex,  pron.,  my- 
self: S  1835  miself,  S 
184;  my-selue,  /,  myself, 
C  351,  427.  Originally 
me-self. 

misferen,  v.,  to  go  astray, 
transgress,  do  wrong: 
pret.  a  sg.,  misferdest, 
V  212.  O.E.  misferan. 

mo,  adj.  &  adv.,  more, 
greater:  V  145,  204,  C 
82,  458;  more,  S  103, 
265,  V  206,  C  366,  369; 
mour,  C  13,  149,  222, 
224,  225,  226,  etc.  O. 
E.  ma,  mara. 

mod,  n.,  mood,  heart,  frame 
of  'mind:  S  109,  113,  181, 
etc.  j  mode,  C  54,  303, 
312.  O.E.  mod. 

modi,  adj.,  proud:  S  3,  348, 
417.  O.E.  modig. 

mold,  n.,  earth:  C  285. 
O.E.  molde. 

mon,  indef.  pron.,  one:  S 
131.  O.E.  man.  See  me. 

mon,  n.,  see  man. 

mon,  v.,  must :  pres.  i  sg., 


5  182.     O.N.  monn,  ist 

6  3rd  sing.,  mon,  mun. 
mon,  n.,  moan:  ace.,  mon, 

C  107  5  ace.,  mone,  C 
84.  Cf.  O.E.  maenan,  v. 

moni,  see  many. 

more,  adv.,  see  mo. 

morne,  n.,  morn,  morning'. 
C  241.  O.E.  morgen. 

most,  adj.  &  adv.,  most, 
greatest:  €48$  moste,  C 
413.  O.E.  msest. 

mote,  v.,  may,  must:  pres. 
isg.,mote,  C  538;  a  sg., 
most,  S  437,  V  207,  208  j 
3  sg.,  mot,  S  233;  mote, 
€362;  pres.  subj.  i  sg., 
mote,  S  1 1 6 ;  3  sg. ,  mote, 
S  212.  O.E.  mot. 

moue,  v.,  see  mai. 

mou^ht,  see  mai. 

mour,  see  mo. 

mourne,  v.,  care,  worry, 
mourn:  infin.,  S  148.  O. 
E.  murnan. 

mournyng,  v.  n.,  mourn- 
ing: C  121. 

moute,  see  mai. 

motive,  n.,  mouth:  V  1005 
mouthe,  C  209.  O.E» 
muK 

much,  adv.,  see  mikel. 

muchel,  adj.  &  adv.,  much, 
great:  S  140,  175,  227, 


129 

3°5>443>  V98;muchele, 
S  153,  1635  mikel,  S 
194,  265,  3125  mych,  C 
795  myche,  C  426; 
mekyll,  C  12,  84,  94, 
107,  etc.}  mykyll,  C 
488.  O.E.  mycel,  micel. 

mustart,  n.,  mustard:  S 
2805  mustard,  S  287.  O. 
F.  mostarde. 

myche,  see  muchel. 

myjht,  v.,  see  mai. 

myght,  n.,  see  mijtte. 

mykyll,  see  muchel. 

mynstralsy,  n.,  minstrelsy: 
C  99,  O.F.  menestral- 
sie. 

mynstrellus,  n.  pi.,  min- 
strels :  C  46,  49.  O.  F. 
menestrel. 

myrth,  n.,  mirth,  pleasure, 
joy:  €91,  112,  158,  etc.; 
myrthe,  C  5525  pi.  myr- 
thys,  €47.  O.E.  myrg'S, 
mirh'S. 

my-selue,  see  mi-selue. 

nabbe  (ne  +  habbe),    v., 

S  68,  V  390 
nai,  adv.,  nay:  S  43,  179; 

nay,  V  188,  C  45.   O.N. 

nei. 
nakerner,   n.,   kettle-drum 

player:  pi.  nakerners,   C 


I30 


ioo.  O.  F.  nacre,  na- 
quere,  etc.  +  -er,  ending. 

name,  n.,name:  C66,  115, 
530;  nome,  S  195,  V  36, 
57.  O.E.  nama. 

namore  (na  -j-  more),  adv., 
no  more:  S  260,  V  65. 
O.E.  na  more. 

nay,  see  nai. 

ne,  adv.,  not:  S  46,  etc., 
¥42,  etc.  j  ni,  S  157.  O. 
E.  ne. 

ne,  conj.,  nor:  S  39,  48, 
etc.,  V  5,  146,  etc.,  C 
20,  27,  etc.  O.E.  ne. 

nedde  (ne+hadde):  V  ioo, 
169,  2865  neddi  (ne  + 
hadde  -f-  I),  V  99. 

nede,  n.,  need:  S  163,  210, 
V  225,  276,  C  438;  at 
nedys,  C  8.  O.E.  med. 

ne-hond,  adv.,  almost, 
nearly.  C  70.  M.E.  neih 
bond,  Ancr.  Riwle,  etc. ; 
nerehond,  nerhond,  Cur- 
sor Mundi,  etc. 

nei,  ney,  adv.,  nigh:  8310, 
V  32,  etc.;  ny,  C  222. 
O.E.  neah. 

nei^ebore,  n.,  neighbor:  V 
115.  O.E.  neahgebur. 

nelde,  n.,  old  woman:  S 
173,  217,232,  249,  371, 
385,415,436  See  Notes. 


nelle  (ne -f-  wille):  848,  V 
i88j  neltou  (ne  +  wilt 
+  boii),  V  189;  mil  (ne 
+  wil),  S  314;  nulli 
(ne  -f-  will  +  I),  S  295; 
nolde  (ne  -f-  wolde),  V 
161. 

ner,  adv.,  near:  V  38.  O. 
E.  near. 

nere,  adv.,  nearer:  C  343. 
O.E.  nearra. 

neren  (ne  +  weren),  S  274. 

nes  (ne  -f-  wes),  V  2. 

nesten,  v.,  build  a  nest: 
pres.  2  sg.,  nestes,  V  48. 
O.E.  nist(i)an. 

nej?er . . .  ne,  conj.,  neither 
.  .  .  nor:  C  250,  474. 

neuede  (ne  +  heuede),  v. : 
S  ii,  V  98. 

neuere,  adv.,  never:  S  ioo, 
V  3,  48;  neuer,  C  341, 
V  145,  198;  newer,  S 
1 1 8.  O.E.  nsefre. 

neuer-fe-les,  conj.,  never- 
theless: C  443. 

new,  adj.,  new.  pi.,  C  379. 
O.E.  niwe. 

newyng,  n.,  novelty:  C 
>38i. 

ni}t,  n.,  night:  S  150;  ni^te, 
V  in;  ny^ht,  C  30; 
nyght,  C  162,  307.  O. 
E.  niht. 


13* 


nimen,  v.,  take:  pret.  3 
sg.,  nom,  V  785  p.  p., 
nomen,  V  250.  O.  E. 
niman. 

nis  (ne  +  is),  V  145,  164. 

nist  (ne  -f-  wist),  see  wot. 

no,  adj.  &  adv.,  no:  S  71, 
122,  148,  196,  305,  C 
20,  34,  45,  82,  etc.;  non, 
S  65,  136,  V  42,  146,  C 
319,  321,  3615  none,  S 
245>  v  3>  84  $  nones,  V 
294.  O.E.  nan. 

nobull,  adj.,  noble:  C  521. 
O.F.  noble. 

noen,  see  none. 

nolde,  v.,  see  nelle. 

nom,  see  nimen. 

nome,  see  name. 

nomon  (no  +  man),  n. :  S 
342.  O.E.  nan  mon. 

non,  pron.,  none:  S  u,  66, 
129,  324  (?),  V  1 60,  C 
8,  14,  26,  27,  etc,  O.E. 
nan. 

none,  n.,  noon:  C  88,  258; 
noen,  S  433  ;  to  non,  S 
324  =  'until  noon/ 
O.E.  non. 

nones-kunnes,  adj.,  no 
kind  of:  V  294. 

not  (ne  +  wot),  v»,  knows 
not:  pres.  3  sg.,  S  305, 
V  1 60.  O.E.  ne  +  wat. 


not,  adv.,  not:  C  46,  50, 

etc.,  see  nout,  nouijt. 
nofer  .  .  .  ne,  conj.,  neither 

.   .   o  nor  :    C    116,    see 

nej>er  .  .  «  ne,  noufer 

.  .  .  ne. 
no-J>ing,  n.,  nothing:  S  44, 

352,    V    183,    2535   no- 

thyng,  C  428. 
notys,  n.,  (?):  C  101.    See 

Notes. 
noil,    adv,,    now.    S    145, 

*79>   ^85,   424,  V   106, 

152;  now,  C  136,   145. 

O.E.  nu. 
nou,  conj.,  nocwthat:  S  58. 

O.E.  nu. 
nouijt,  not  at  all:    S    56; 

nought,  C  127,  21  o,  284, 

401.  O.E.  na  -f-wiht.  See 

nout. 
nout,  advs,  not:  S  38,   68, 

229,  2435  nohut,  V  220. 

O0    E.       na-wiht        See 


nout,  indef.,  naughty  no- 
thing: S  47,  48,  206,  V 
39,  775  nought,  C  noj 
nou^t,  C  2755  now^ht, 
C  305;  no^ht,  C  514. 
O.  E.  na  +  wiht. 

nouj?e,  advo,  now.  V  55, 
99.  O.E.  nu  +  Hi. 

nouj?er  .  .  .  ne,  conj.,  net- 


I32 

ther .  .  .  nor:  S  308,  372, 
V  5;  noj>er  .  .  .  ne,  C 
1 1 6.  See  nej>er  .  .  .  ne. 
O.E.  ne  +  aegber.  See 
nefer,  no  Jen 

now,  see  nou, 

nowylte,  n.  ,novelty :  C  2 1 7. 
O.F.  novelte. 

nu,  see  nou. 

mil,  nulli,  see  nelle. 

ny,  see  nei. 

nyght,  see  nijt. 

of,  prep.,  of,  from:  S  4, 
77,  etc.,  V  26,  etc.,  C 
4,  9,  56,  60,  66,  102, 
etc.;  hof,  S  2,  V  295; 
off,  C2,  29,  99,100,101, 
102,  no,  etc.;  from,  S 
189,  V  56,  267,  C  134; 
for,  Cm,  191,  410; 
of  me  I-don  hit  hiis  ='it 
is  all  up  with  me/  V  1 06. 
O.E.  of. 

Of,  adv.,  off:  S  335.  O.E. 
of. 

offycers,  n.,  officer:  sing., 
C  293.  O.F.  officier. 

ofseen,  v.,  see,  observe: 
pret.  3  sg.,  ofsei,  V  10. 
O.E.  .ofseon. 

of-slyfe,  v.,  slice  off,  slive 
(see  Jos.  Wright):  infin., 
C  214.  O.E.  (to)  slifan. 


ofte,adv.,0/fc»:  V35, 185, 
210,  etc.  O.E.  oft. 

ofte-tyme,  adv.,  often:  C 
488. 

of-J?inken,v.  impers.,  cause 
regret,  repent :  pres.  3  sg. , 
of->inke>,  V  205.  O.E. 
ofbyncan. 

old,  adj.,0/</:S  199,  C  517; 
olde,  C  332;  holde,  S 
302,  331;  hold,  C  566. 
O.E.  eald. 

oldest,  v.,  see  holden. 

omnipotent,  adj.:  C  179. 
O.  Fc  omnipotent. 

on,  prep.,  on:  S  16,  47, 
102,  etc.,  C  85,  153, 
169,  etc.;  onne,  C  80, 
J93>  372,  378;hon,  S  i8j 
on  J>at,  on  condition  that, 
S  38;  on  ende,  to  an  end, 
S  362;  on  hey,  above,  V 
310  O.E.  on. 

on,  indef.  art.,  see  a. 

on,  pron.,  one:  S  2;  one, 
C  13,  423.  O.E.  an. 

one,  num.,  one:  V  7,  C  75, 
8 1,  209,  etc.;  on,  ¥198 
O.E.  an. 

oneth,  adv.,  not  easily:  C 
78.  OoE.  unease. 

onwis,  adj.,  unwise:  8218, 
445;  xmnwis,  S  117. 
O.E.  unwis. 


on-wold,  v.,  wield,  con- 
trol: infin.,  S  311.  O.E. 
anweald,  anwald,  n. 

opdrowe,  v.,  draw  up: 
pret.  3  pi.,  V  287.  O.E. 
dragan,  drog,  droh,  dro- 
gon,  dragen. 

ope,  adv.,  open:  V  27.  O.E. 
open. 

oppon,  prep.,  upon:  S  204, 
345.  O.E.  uppon. 

opward,  adv.,  on  the  way 
up  :  V  242.  O.E.  up- 
weard. 

opwinde,  v.,  wind  up:  in- 
fin., V  75.  O.E.  windan. 

or,  conj.,  or:  €35,  348, 
358,  etc.;  our  (most  fre- 
quent form  in  C),  55, 
226,  etc.  See  oj?er. 

ore,  n. ,  grace,  favor :  V  1 8  9 . 
O.E.  ar. 

ofer,  conj.,  or:  Si  33,  183, 
395>  v  5*>  1*0,  *o8, 
etc. ;  o}>er .  . .  o}>er,  either 
...  or,  V  14.  O.E.  ah- 
W3e}>er,  awj>er.  See  or. 

ofer,  adj.,  other,  second: 
S  136,  V  76,  C  53,  319, 
321;  pi.,  o>re,  V  217. 
O.E.  6J>er. 

oj>er-weys,  adv.,  other- 
wise: C  321. 

ou,  pron.,  see  }e. 


133 

ou,  adv.,^oou:  V  230.   See 

hou. 
ouene,  adj.,   own:  S  421; 

houne,  S  390.  O.E.  agen. 
ouer,    prep.,   over:  V  22. 

O.E.  ofer. 
ouer,  poss,   pron.,  our:   C 

218,     221,    376.    O.E. 

ure.  See  oure. 
ouer-al,  adv.,  everywhere: 

V  9,  19,  69,  etc.     OoE. 

ofer     call.       Cf.     Mod. 

Germ.  uberalL 
ouer-gon,  v.,  pass:  p.  p., 

ouer-gon,   C   182;   pret. 

3  sg.,  ouer-hede,  V  90. 

O.E.  ofergan,  ofereode. 
ouer-hede,  see  ouer-gon. 
ou^ht,  n.,  aught,  anything: 

€34.  O.E.  aht,  awiht. 
ounder,  prep.,  under:  V4i, 

47,  51.   O.E.  under. 
ounderfonge,  v.,  receive: 

infin.,  V  196;  pres.  2  sg., 

ounderfost,  S  378.    O»E. 

underfon. 
ounseli,     adj.,      unhappy^ 

miserable,  wicked:  S  98. 

O.E.  unsselig. 
ounwis,  see  onwis. 
oup,  adv. ,  up :  V  246  j  houp, 

V  126.    O.E.  up,  upp. 
our,  conj.,  see  or. 
oure,    poss.     pron.,    our: 


134 

S  75,  etc.,  V  54;  houre, 

8     3*>    89,     236,     408, 

V35>  59-    O.E-  ure.    See 

ouer. 
ous,  pers.   pron.,  us:  S  905 

vs,  C  1405  hous,  S  220. 

(XE.  us.   See  we. 
out,  adv,,  out\  S  345,  441, 

C    3605    oute,    C     3485 

houte,  S  79.   O.E.  ut. 
oute,    v*,  ought  (?):    pret, 

3  sg.,  C63.    O.E.  ante. 
Out  of,  prep»,  out  of:  S  347, 

V  i,    109,  C   174,  295, 

457.   O.E,  ut  of. 

palfercy,  n.,  palfrey:  C 
250.  O.F.  palefrei, 

palle,  n.,  a  costly  cloth:  S 
23.  O.E.  paell. 

palys,  n.,  palace:  C  181. 
F.  palais. 

pannyer,  n. ,  pannier ,  bread 
basket:  C  242,  244,  323, 
3735  panyer,  C  230.  F. 
panier. 

paradiis,  n.,  paradise:  V 
140.  OcF.  paradis. 

paramour,  adv. ,  fervently : 
C  501.  OoE.  paramour. 

parlere,  n.,  room  for  con- 
versation^ parlor:  €481. 
O.F.  parloir. 

par  ma  fai,  French  form  of 


asseveration,  by  my  faith: 

S  436. 
parte,  n. ,  part :  C  2  8  6,  3 1 7. 

F.  part, 
parte,  v.,  divide:  infin.,  C 

350.   F.  partir. 
pas,  n.,  step,  gait:  C  292. 

O.F.  pas, 
pater-noster,    n.,    Lord's 

Prayer:  S  209.     Lat. 
pay,    n.,    pleasure -,    taste  9 

satisfaction:  C  48,   144. 

O.F.  paie. 
pay,  v.,  pay:  infin.,  C  430, 

4495    pret.    3   sg.,  payd, 

€5095  pret.  3  pi.,  payd, 

C  563.   O.F.  paier. 
Pendragoun,  pr.  n. :  €4. 
penes,  n.  pi.,  pence:  S  274. 

O.E.  penning,  pening. 
pepir,  n.,  pepper:  S  279. 

O.E.  pipor. 
pes,  n.,  peace:  €546.  O.F. 

pais. 
peyn,    n.,   pain:    C    176. 

O.F.  peine. 
pikes,  n.,  pikes:  pi.,  V  62, 

284.   O.E.  pic. 
pilche,  n.,  fur  garments:  S 

225.    O.E.  pilece,  pylce. 
pine,  n.,  pain,  trouble:  S. 

305,  V  142.   O.E.  pin. 
place,  n.,  place:  C  105.  F. 

place. 


plaie,   v.,    play:    infin.,   S 

438;  pley,  C  1 60.    O.E. 

plegian. 
plente,  n.,    plenty:    C  24, 

225.    O.F.  plente. 
plenyng,  v.  n. ,  lamentation : 

C.  221.    O.F.  plaign-. 
pley,  see  play, 
pli^tte,  v.,  plight:    S   252. 

O.E.  pliht,  pledge.    O.E. 

plihtan. 
plukken,   v.,  plucky  pull-. 

pret.    3    sg.,   plukyd,  C 

338.   O.E.  pluccian. 
pore,  adj.,  poor:  C  32,  35, 

260,  etc.    O.F.  povre. 
porter,    n.,    doorkeeper:  C 

262;     pointer,    C    277. 

O.F.  portier. 
pouerte,    n.,    poverty  :    S 

304,    C    17,    191,    252, 

540.   O.F.  poverte. 
pound,  n.,  pound:  S  224; 

pi.,  pownd,  C  555.  O.E. 

pund,  pi.,  pund. 
pourtenans,    n.,    appurte- 
nances:   n.    pi.,    C   545. 

O.  F.    apartenance,    etc. ; 

aphetic,  partenance,    see 

Godefroy. 
praere,  n.,  prayer:  C  195. 

O.F.  preiere. 
pray,  v.,  pray:  pres.  i  sg., 

C  138,  2725  pret,  3  sg., 


'35 


prayd,  C  170,  175,  189$ 

asked ,  inquired,   C  508. 

O.F.  preier. 
present,n.,£7/hC  274,281, 

3945presante,C3o4j  pre- 

sant,  C  334;  presente,  C 

37J>  385-    O.F.  present. 
presente,  v.,  present,  offer: 

infin.,  C  2345  pret.  3  sg., 

presente,  €492.     O.  F. 

presenter- 
presentyng,  v.  n.,  present 

making:  C  410. 
prest,   n.,   priest:   V    52, 

I93>  pl«  prestes,  S  248. 

O.E.  preost. 
presyng,   v.    n.,  pressing, 

urging:  C  300.  M.E. ver- 
bal   noun.      In    N.E.D. 

from  1400  on. 
pride,  n.,  see  prude, 
pris,  n. ,  high  esteem,  worthy 

price,  'value:  S  120,  446. 

O.F.  pris. 
priuite,  n.,  privacy:  S  84. 

O.F.  privite. 
prefer  (en),  v.,profer:  pret. 

3  sg.,    proferd,    €371. 

A.F.  profre. 
proud,  adj.,  proud  :    S    3. 

O.E.  prut. 
prude,   n.,  pride:    S   1255 

pride,   C  79,    96.    O.E. 

pryte. 


i36 


putte,  n.,  pit,  well:  V  71, 
113,  117,  119,  241, 
etc.;  put,  V  261.  O.E. 
pyt. 

pypers,  n.,  pipers:  C  100. 
O.E.  pipere. 

pytewysly,  adv. ,  piteously : 
C  1 08.  O.F.  pitos,  pi- 
teus. 

qued,  n.,  evil:  V  210; 
quede,  V  224.  Early 
M.E.  cwead,  cwed,cwad. 

qued,  adj.,  evil:  V  200. 

quelle,  v.,  infin.,  kill:  S 
183.  O.E.  cwellan. 

quen,  n.,  queen:  C  389. 
O.E.  cwen. 

quod,  v.,  quoth,  said:  pret. 
3sg.,S27,V33,  53,  118, 
127,  199,  207,  221,  etc.; 
quaj>,  V  37,  96;  quoK 
C  145.  O.E.  cwseK 

quyte,  v.,  free,  release: 
infin.,  C  72;  refl.,  to 
acquit  oneself  well,  do 
one's  part,  C  63.  O.F. 
quiter. 

radde,  v.,  see  rede, 
ragges,    n.    pi.,    rags:   C 

359.     Cf.    O.E.    raggig, 

adj.,  shaggy. 
raj>e,   adv.,    soon:    S   226; 


compar.     raj>er,     sooner, 

before,  V  68.  O.E.  hra^e. 
raw^ht,  see  recche. 
recche,  v. ,  reck,  care :  pres. 

i    sg.,    recche,    V    2285 

pret.  3  sg.,  route,  V  260. 

O.E.  recan. 
recche,   v.,     reach,    come: 

infin.,     V     268  ;      pret. 

3   sg.,    raw^ht,    reached, 

caught,  C  196.   O.E.  r§e- 

can. 
recche,  v. ,  expound,  preach : 

infin.,  V  268.    O.E.  rec- 

can. 
red,  n.,  counsel,  advice:  S 

3*8>    350,    378;  rede,  V 

50;    reed,  V   192.    O.E. 

raed. 
rede,    v.,   counsel,  advise: 

pres.  i  sg.,   rede,  S  375, 

C  129,    133,   etc.;  pres. 

subj.  3  sg.,  rede,  V  130, 

149,    246;    pret.    3   sg., 

radde,  S  152,  185.    O.E. 

nidan. 
redi,  adj.,    ready:    S  434; 

redy,    C    22,    168.     Cf. 

O.E.  riede,  or  gersede. 
rehete,  v.,  cheer,  comfort: 

infin.,    €19.     O.F.   re- 

heter. 
relesen,   v.,    relish:    pret. 

3   sg.,   relesyd,    C   211. 


'37 


See     reles,     n.,      haste, 

aftertaste,  impression,  in 

N.E.D. 
rene,  v.,  run:  infin.,  S  281. 

O.E.  rinnan. 

Reneuard,  pr.  n. :  V  133. 
renning,    n.,    running:    S 

283.    O.E.  aerninge. 
renoune,  n.,  renown:  C  5. 

O.F.  renon. 
rente,  n.,  rent,  income:  C 

555.    O.F.  rente. 
repent,    v.,   repent:    pres. 

i  sg.,  0434.    F.  repentir. 
rerde,   n.,  speech:  V  114. 

O.E.  reord. 
reste,  n.,  rest:   S  n,  291. 

O.E.  rest. 
reue,    n.,    reeve:    V   26. 

O.E.  gerefa. 
reuell,  n.,   revel:  C  482. 

O.F.  revel, 
reuliche,  adv.,  sadly,  pite- 

ously:  S   302,  V  107.  O. 

E.  hreowlic. 
reuj?e,  n.,  pity:  S  318.   O. 

E.  hreow,  adj. 
rew,  v.,    rue,  pity:  infin., 

C  269;  imper.  2  sg.,  rew, 

S  1 145  impers. reflex. pres. 

3  sg.,  rewej?,  S  235.  O.E. 

hreowan. 
rewerd,  v.,  reward:  pres. 

subj.  3  sg.,  C  364.   O.N. 


F.    rewarder.     O.F.   re- 

guarder,  regarder. 
rewerd, j\., reward:  €449, 

524.     O.  N.  F.   reward. 

O.F.  reguard,  regard, 
ribe,  n.,  rib:  V  41.     O.E. 

ribb. 
riche,  adj.,  rich:  821,  etc. ; 

ryche,    C   35,   43,    327; 

rych,  C  51,  52,  61,  118. 

O.E.  rice, 
rijt,   adv.,   right,  straight, 

exactly:  V  2745  ry^ht,  C 

9>  36,  477jryght,  €165, 

254,  468.    O.E.  riht. 
ringe,  v.,    ring:  infin.,   V 

251.    O.E.  hringan. 
ro,  n.,  rest,  quiet:  S  291. 

O.E.  row. 
robys,  n.,  robes:  pi.,  C  52. 

O.F.  robe, 
rode,  n.,  rood,  cross:  8323; 

C  57,  3°6,  336}  roed,  S 

254.   O.E.  rod. 
Rome,  pr.  n. :  S  105. 
ronde,   adj.,   round:    C  9, 

201.    O.F.  roonde. 
rong,  v.,  rung:  pret.  3  sg., 

C  163.   O.E.  hringan. 
ros,  v.,  see  ryse. 
roime,  n.,  colloquy,  counsel: 

871.   O.E.  run. 
route,  n.,  throng,  company : 

C  267.  O.F.  route. 


route,  v.,  see  recche. 
ryall,  adj.,  royal:  C  392. 

O.F.  real,  rolal. 
ryalty,  n.,  royalty,  munifi- 

cencg'.Cj^.   O.F.  realte. 
rych,  ryche,  see  riche. 
ryches,  n.,  riches-.  C  568. 

F.  richesse. 
ryde,  v.,  ride: infin.,  C  249, 

474.   O.E.  ridan. 
ryfe,  adj.,  speedily,  quickly 

(See  N.E.D.,  B.  4)  :   C 

1 80.   O.E.  rif. 
ryght,  ry^ht,  see  ri^t. 
ryse,  v.,    arise:  infin.,    C 

197$  pret.  3  pi.,  ros,  C 

167.    O.E.  risan. 

sale,  v.,  say.  infin.,  S  2,  55; 
saien,  S  49;  sugge,  V 
2o7;suggen,V265j  sey, 
C  45,  67,  etc.  5  pres.  i 
sg.,  saie,  S  1435  pres. 
2  sg.,  seist,  S  6ij  pres.  3 
sg.,  seij,  S  1795  sei)>,  S 
3035  seyth,  C  248$  pres. 
subj.  2  sg.,saie,  S  435; 
imper.  2  sg.,  sei,  V  229$ 
say,  V  1215  pret.  3  sg., 
saide,  S  1875  sede,  V 
129,  150;  seide,  V  226, 
269;  seyd,  C  125,  176, 
etc.}  pret.  3  pi.,  seide, 
V  2 1 1  f  seyd,  C  5215 


p.  p.,  said,  S  26 8 j  sehid, 

V  2ioj  I-seyd,  C   484} 

pres.     2     sg.,    seist    on, 

attributes^  S  198.   O.E. 

secgan. 
sake,   n.,    sake:  V  44,   C 

416.   O.E.  sacu. 
same,  n.,  shame,  dishonor: 

S  55,  1285  scham,  S  126} 

shame,  S  2515  shorn e,  S 

196,216,  2475  V  35,  58, 

99.    O.E.  sceamu. 
saue,  v.,  save:  pres.  subj. 

3  sg.,  C  416.    O.F.  sau- 

ver. 

saulys,  see  soule. 
saute,   v.,  reconcile,  bring 

to   terms:   infin.,  S    220; 

p.  p.  (as  adjective),  saut, 

S  222.    O.E.  sahtlian. 
sautrey,    n.,    psaltery:    C 

102.   O.F.  psalterie. 
sauyoure,    n.,    Savior:  C 

376.    O.F.  sauveour. 
sawe,  n.,   saying,   words: 

S  57.   O.E.  sagu. 
scape,  n. ,  harm :  S  2  3  5.  O. 

E.  sceafta. 
schake,    v.,    slip    away; 

infin.,  C  58.  O.E.  scacan. 
schall,  schuld,    etc.,     see 

that. 

scham,  see  same. 
sche,  pers.  pron.,  she:  €2.9, 


123,  124,  149,  etc.; 
dat.,  hyr,  C  146;  gen. 
(poss.),  hyr,  C  243.  See 
hoe. 

schen,  adj.,  bright:  C  388. 
O.E.  sclr. 

schewe,  see  schowe. 

schofe,  v.,  sho<ve:  infin.,  C 
360.  O.E.  scufan. 

schowe,  v.,  shocwt  reveal: 
infin.,  S  69  $  schew,  C 
215;  pret.  3  sg. ,  schewyd, 
C  374.  O.E.  sceawian. 

schulder,  n.,  shoulder:  C 
476.  O.E.  sculdor. 

sclepen,  v.,  sleep:  pret.  3 
pi.,  sclepyd,  €163.  O. 
E.  slsepan. 

scorne,  n.,  scorn:  C  402. 
O.F.  escorne. 

36,  v.,  see:  infin.,  se,  S  165, 
3405  sen,  S  278;  pres.  i 
sg.,se,  S  319;  2  sg.,  I- 
siist,  V  232;  2  pi.,  se,  C 
127;  pret.  i  sg.,  I-seie, 
V  218;  sey  (MS.  ley),  V 
216;  3sg.,  I-sey,  V  280; 
saw,  C  341,  361,  3795 
sei,  V  28 1  j  sey,  C  311, 
3195  p.  p.,  se,  C  205; 
sene,  C  212.  O.E.  seon, 
geseon. 

secc,  adj.,  see  selk. 

sechen,   v.,   seek:    pret.    3 


'39 

sg.,  sought,  €448;  p.p., 
sought,  C  206;  sout,  S 
423.  O.E.  secean. 

sehid,  v.,  see  saie. 

seke,  adj.,  sick:  V  41 $  sek, 
S  199.  O.E.  seoc. 

seknesse,  n.,  sickness:  S 
200.  O.E.  seocnes. 

seli(wif),  adj.,  good  wo- 
man: S  315,  337.  O.E. 
(ge)  sielig. 

selk,  adj.,  such:  S  101; 
secca,  S  83;  silk,  S  198; 
sulke  a,  S  264;  selke 
a,  S  313;  sych,  C  55, 
59,  etc.,  sych  a,  C  235; 
451.  O.E.  swilc,  swelc. 

sellen,  v.,  sell:  p.  p.  sold(e), 
C  74,  93.  O.E.  sellan. 

sembly,  adj.,  seemly:  C  6; 
compar.  sembly  er,  27. 
O.N.  soemiligr. 

send,  v.,  send:  infin.,  C 
573;  pres.  subj.  3  sg., 
sende,  8236;  pret.  3  sg., 
send,  C  386,  523;  sente, 
C  *9*>  3775  P-  P->  send, 
S  214,  412;  sente,  C 
231.  O.E.  sendan. 

senne,  see  sunne. 

sente,  v.,  assent:  pres.  i 
sg. ,  sente,  €289.  Cf .  as- 
sent. 

sep,  see  shep. 


140 


serewe,  n.,  sorrow ,  care, 
grief:  S  182$  sereue,  S 
1865  sorrow,  C  94,  128, 
etc.  O.E.  sorh,  sorg, 
dat.,  sorge. 

serteyn  (?):  C  162. 

seme,  v . ,  serve :  pres.  2  sg. , 
seruest  (afFter),  earnest,  S 
197,-  pret.  3  sg.,  siruyd, 
C  5355  P-  P->  serued,  C 
391.  O.F.  servir. 

seruys,  n.,  service:  C  164, 
178.  O.F.  service. 

sese,  v.,  cease:  imper.  2 
sg.,  C  303.  O.F.  cesser. 

seth,  conj.,  since:  C  213, 
342;  seth  J>at,  C  427. 
O.E.  siftSan. 

sctten,  v.,  sett  put:  infin., 
S  62;  pret.  3  sg.,  sete,  C 
62  j  p.  p.,  sett,  seated: 
€481.  O.E.  settan. 

sey,  see  sale. 

seynt,  n.,  saint:  C  265, 
432.  O.F.  seint. 

shal,  v.,  shall t  ought:  pres. 
1  sg-»  S  50,  etc.}  schall, 
C  266,  270,  etc.}  2  sg., 
shalt,  S  1 1 8,  165,  etc., 
V  2  3  5 ;  schall,  G  263,269, 
etc.j  3  sg.,  shal,  S  in, 
etc. ;  i  pi.,  schall,  0225, 
236;  2  pi.,  schall,  C  i, 
a33»  3  pl-»  shulen,  S  275, 


4385  pret.  i  sg.,  schuld, 
C  35°>  35!>  etc.}  3  sg., 
schuld,  C  136,282}  3  pi. , 
shulden,  V  264,  268  } 
schuld,  C  36,  44,  etc.} 
pret.  subj.  i  sg.,  schulde, 

s  59>  v  J38>  *  sg->  snul- 
dest,  S  432}  scholdest,  V 
136,  180}  shuldich  (shul- 
de  +  ich),  V  163,  181} 
shuldi  (shuld+I)  S  106. 
O.E.  sceal,  scealt,  sculon, 
sceolde,  etc. 

shame,  see  shome. 

shenden,  v.,  disgrace,  con- 
found :ip.  p.,shend,  8346} 
I-shend,  S  213.  O.E. 
scendan. 

shep,  n.,  sheep:  pi.,  V  167, 
203}  sep,  S  272.  O.E. 
sceap,  seep. 

sheppen,  v.,  rrazte:pret.  3 
sg.,  shop,  S  354.  O.E. 
scieppan,  scippan. 

shiling,  n.,  shillings:  pi., 
S  270.  O.E.  sailing. 

shome,  see  same. 

shon,  n.,  shoes:  S  225. 
O.E.  sceo,  scoh;  pi., 
sceos,  scos. 

shop,  see  sheppen. 

shuldi,  see  shal. 

Sigrim,  pr.  n. :  V  128. 

sike,  v.,  sight  groan:  infin., 


141 


8260$  siken,  V  1 95  j  pres. 

part.,  syjeng,  C  98,  108, 

354.    O.E.  sican. 
siker,  adj.,  certain,  secure: 

S    240,  V    585    sykerly, 

adv.,  C  219,  315.    O.E. 

sicor. 

silk,  see  such. 
singe,    v.,    sing:  infin.,    S 

401,  V^52;syng,  €104. 

O.E.  singan. 
sinke,  v.,    sink:  infin.,   V 

80,  239.    O.E.  sincan. 
sire,  n.,  lord,  husband,  sir: 

S  75>  Y  37}  sir,  C  127. 

O.F.  sires,  sire. 
Siriz,  pr.  n. :  S  154,   161, 

418,  420 j    SiriJ>,  S   221, 

268,  297. 
si}>,  i\.,time:  S  258.    O.E. 

siK 
sitten,  v.,  sit:  infin.,  S  50 j 

site,  83085  sitte,  V  2815 

sytte,   C   520;   imper.   2 

sg.,  site,S28jpret.  3sg., 

sat,  V  30,  ii7}pret.  3  pi., 

seten,  V  32.    O.E.  sittan. 
skil,  n.,  right:  S  52;  sky  11, 

C  165.   Icel.  skil. 
sleie,  adj.,  sly,  shre<wd:  S 

159;  sley,  V  262.   O.N. 

slsegr. 
slep,    n.,    sleep:    V    267. 

O.E.  sl£p. 


slete,  v.,  slit,  bait:  infin., 

V  289.   O.E.  slltan. 
slo,   v.,    slay,   kill:    infin., 

slo,  S   1845  P-  P->  slain, 

S  310.  O.E.  slean. 
smal,  adj.,  small:  V  248} 

pi.,  smale,  V  155.    O.E. 

smael. 


Cf.  Bradl.-Stratm.  Diet. 
smertly,  adv.,    quickly:  C 

263,     266,     310.     O.E. 

smeart,  adj. 
smite,  v.,  smite:  pret.  subj. 

3  sg->  s  335-   °-E.  smi- 

tan. 
so,   adv.,   so  :   S    12,    etc., 

V  2,  etc.,  C  15,  77,  etc. 

O.E.  swa. 
so,  conj.,  so  that,  until:  C 

6j,V  10}  in  asseverations, 

826,  116,133,  273,433, 

V  149,  €416,  419,  425; 

correlative,  as  .  .  .  as,  S 

156.   O.E.  swa. 
sohute,  see  sought,  sechen. 
solas,  n.,   solace:  C   519. 

O.F.  solaz. 
sold,  see  sellen. 
solen,  adj.,  (?)  alone  (?)  (so 

expl.  by  Maetzn.):  8238. 

O.F.  solain. 
som,  adj.,  some,  some  kind 

of:  V  i8j  soum,  V  1045 


142 


somme,  V  192;  soumme, 

V  125.   O.E.  sum. 
somer,  n.,  summer'.  S  294. 

O.E.  sumor. 
somer,       adv.,       sumpter 

horse  (f):  8247.  See  Notes. 
som-tyme,  adv.,  a  certain 

time,  once:  C  494,  533. 
som-  what,  adv.,  somewhat: 

C  147,  561.  O.E.  sum-f 

hwaet. 
sonde,  n.,  message-.  Cm. 

O.E.  sand,  sond. 
sone,  adv.,  at  once:  S  246, 

262,  376,  V  52,  61,  235, 

C  89,    238,    278,    337. 

O.E.  sona. 
sone,  n.,  son:  S  167,  194, 

V  199;  son,  0243,  253, 

323.   O.E.  sunne. 
sore,     adv.,   much,    very, 

greatly:  V  66,  190,  205, 

240,  C  95,  98,  1 06,  etc. 

O.E.  sar. 
sori,     adj.,    sorrowful:     S 

338,  344.  O.E.  sarig. 
sorow,  see  serewe. 
sof,  n.,  truth:  V  121,  129, 

157,    etc.  5    soth,    C  67, 

*57»  a58-    O.E.  s5>. 
sofliche,    adv.,     truly:    S 

391.   O.E.  s5J>lice. 
sou3ht,  see  sechen. 
soule,  n.,  soul:  8213,  314, 


V  252;  gen.,  soul,  ¥2525 
pi.,  saulys,  C  575.  O.E. 
sawel,  etc. 

soule-cnul,  n.,  soul-knell:  V 
251. 

sout,  see  sechen. 

sowne,  n.,  sound-.  €98. 
F.  son. 

spare,  v.,  spare:  infin.,  C 
21  oj  pres.  subj.  2  sg., 
spare,  S  443.  O.E.  spar- 
ian. 

speche,  n.,  speech:  V  223. 
O.E.  spaec,  spraec. 

sped,  n.,  success:  S  141. 
O.E.  sped. 

spede,  v.,  prosper,  succeed: 
infin.,  S  131,  212,  4495 
pres.  subj.  3  sg.,  spede, 
C4i9,  4255  p.  p.,  sped, 
S  410.  O.E.  spedan. 

speken,  v.,  speak:  infin., 
S  8 1,  etc.,  V  170$  speke, 
€383$  pres.  i  sg.,  speke, 
S  3555  ?«*.  3  sg.,  spac, 
S  331  j  spake,  C  406} 
spak,  V6sip.  p.,  speken, 
S  216.  O.E.  sprecan. 

spel,  n.,  story:  S  62.  O.E. 
spel. 

spendyd,  v.,  spent:  p.  p., 
C  68.  O.E.  spendan. 

speres,  n.,  spears:  pi.,  V 
292.  O.E.  spere. 


spesyally,  adv.,  especially: 

€508.   O.F.  especial, 
spille,    v.,    ruin-.    S    233, 

432.    O.E.  spillan. 
splen,    n.,    spleen-.    V   47. 

Lat.  splen. 
spouse,    n.,   spouse,   wife: 

891.   O.F.  espouse, 
spryng,  v.,  spring:  infin., 

0232.    O.E.  springan. 
spytously,    adv.,    angrily. 

C  262.    O.F.  despit. 
squyre,  n.,  squire-.  €398, 

553,    56°J    P1-,   squyres, 

C  1 6.    O.F.  esquire. 
srift,n.,j^r///:  V  1 86, 196. 

O.E.  scrift. 
sriue,    v.,    shri<ve\    infin., 

V    1845    ?•    P->    I-sriue, 

V  176.    O.E.  scrifan. 
sroud,  n.,  dress:  S  6.  O.E. 

scrud. 
srud,  v.,  clad-,  p.  p.,  S  23, 

O.E.  scrydan. 
staff,    n.,     staff:    C    247, 

251,  2945  pi.,  staues,  V 

62,  284,  292.   O.E.  stagf. 
standyng,  see  stond. 
stark,  adj.,  strong,  large: 

S  223.   O.E.  stearc. 
statour,     n.,     stature:    C 

10}    stature,  C  498.    F. 

stature, 
staues,  see  staff. 


sted,  n.,  steed,  horse-.  C 
250.  O.E.  steda. 

stel,  n.,  steel:  S  95.  O.E. 
style. 

stere,  v.,  control,  steer:  in- 
fin., C  150.  O.E.  steo- 
ran. 

sterten,  v.,  start:  pret.  3 
sg.,  sterte,  C  325,  337. 
O.N.  sterta. 

steruen,  v.,  die:  pret.  2sg., 
storue, ¥151.  O.E.  steor- 
fan. 

stewerd,  n.,  steward:  C 
3*5>337,  367,448,  45i, 
523,  etc.}  stuerd,  €547. 
O.E.  stlward. 

stinken,  v.,  stink:  pret.  3 
sg.,  stank,  V  94.  O.E. 
stincan. 

stond,  v.,  stand:  infin.,  C 
2675  Pres.  3  sg.,  stondes 
to,  inclines  toward,  C 
4175  pres.  part.,  stand- 
yng,  C  294}  pret.  3  sg., 
stode,  C  121,  349}  stod, 
V  257.  O.E.  standan, 
stod. 

stones,  n.,  stones:  pl.,V  62} 
ston,  V  284.  O.E.  stan. 

stonk,  see  stinken. 

storue,  see  steruen. 

stounde,  n.,  time:  S  419. 
V  213.  O.E.  stund. 


144 


stoure,  n.,  conflict-.  C  504. 
O.F.  estour. 

strek,  v.,  stretch-,  infin.,  S 
441.  O.E.  streccean. 

strengfen,  v.  refl.,  try  (to 
do  something):  infin.,  S 
170.  O.E.  strengftu,  n. 

strete,  n.,  street-.  S  395,  V 
5.  O.E.  street. 

strok,  see  stryke. 

stroke,  n.,  stroke:  €4515 
pi.,  strokes,  C  45  4  j 
strokys,  C  515.  O.E. 
strican. 

strong,  adj.,  strong:  812, 
C  537;  pi.,  stronge,  V 
62  j  stronge,  adv.,  strong- 
ly: V  195,  273.  O.  E. 
strong. 

stryffe,  n.,  strife:  C  174. 
O.F.  estrif. 

stryke,  v.,  strike,  go:  pres. 
imper.  a  sg.,  C  4565 
pret.  3  sg.,  strok,  V  9. 
O.E.  strican,  go,  move, 
run. 

sugge,suggen,v.,seesaie. 

sulke,  see  selke. 

sumdel,  adv.,  somewhat: 
V  237.  O.E.  sum  + 

del. 

stynt,  v.,  restrain:  infin., 
C  1835  stynte,  C  129. 
O.E.  styntan. 


suete,  see  swete. 
sueting,     n.,     darling:     S 

222.  O.E.  swete  +  M.E. 

-ing. 
sunne,   n.,  sin:  S  334,  V 

1655  senne,  S  1945  pi., 

sunnen,  V  177,  197.    O. 

E.  synn. 
sweren,    v.,  swear :  pret. 

3     sg.,     S     421.     O.E. 

swerian. 
swete,  adj.,  sweet:  S  127, 

etc.;  suete,  S   176,    195, 

C  313.   O.E.  swete.  . 
swiche,  see  selke. 
swikele,    adj.,    deceiving: 

V  86,  103.    O.E.  swicol. 
swin,  n.,  swine:  S  272.  O. 

E.  swin. 
swinke,  n.,  labor:  S  134, 

330,   V    144.    O.E.    ge- 

swinc. 
swinken,  v.,  labor,  work: 

pres.    3   sg.,    swinke}>,   S 

140.    O.E.  swincan. 
swij?e,  adv.,  soon:   S  4115 

sui>e,    S    156;    <very,    S 

302,   V   12,     168,    190, 

262,    273$    much,   V  4, 

1 10.   O.E.  swij>e. 
swor,  v.,  see  sweren. 
swownyng,  n.,  swoon:   C 

89.  Cf.  O.E.  swogan, ge- 

swogung,  geswowung. 


sych,  syche,  see  selk. 
syde,  n.,  side:  C  80,  104. 

O.E.  side, 
syght,  n.,  sight:  C  6,  27, 

296.    O.E.  gesiht. 
sy^eng,  see  sike. 
sy^hyng,    n.,   sighing:    C. 

363.  O.E.  slcan. 
sykerly,  see  siker. 
syluer,  n.,  silver:  C  53, 

288.   O.E.  seolfor. 
symple,  adj.,  simple, plain: 

C  261.    F.  simple. 
syng,  see  singe, 
syre,  see  Cleges. 
sytall,   n.,   citole:   C  102. 

O.F,  citole. 
sytte,  see  sitten. 

tabull,  n.,  table:  €9.  O. 
F.  table. 

take,  v.,  take:  infin.,  S 
106,  C  128,  4375  pres. 
imper.  2  sg.,  take,  C 
244 j  pret.  3  sg.,  toke, 
C  247,  3235  p.  p.,  I- 
take,  V  43,  taken  to,  V 
178.  O.N.  taka. 

tame,  adj. ,  tame:  8200,  C 
1 1 6.  O.E.  tarn. 

tary,  v.,  tarry,  delay:  pres. 
imper.  2  sg.,  C  356; 
pret.  3  sg.,  taryd,  C 
401.  O.E.  tergan,  influ- 


enced in  meaning  by  O. 
F.  targer. 

taute,  see  teken. 

tayst,  v.,  taste:  infin.,  C 
208.  O.F.  taster. 

teken,  v.,  teach,  show,  di- 
rect: pres.  2  sg.,  tekest, 
S  2305  pret.  3  sg.,  taute, 
S  219.  O.E.  tsecan. 

telle,v.,te//:inrm.,Si86,V 
131,  187;  tellen,  S  242, 
V  2065  pres.  i  sg.,  telle, 
S  387$  tell,  €237,  3i5j 

2  sg.,   tellest,   S   52;    3 
sg.,  tellys,  €5325  pres. 
imper.  2  sg.,  tel,  S  171, 
V    197;    tell,     C   530; 
pret.  3  sg.,  tolde,  S  76$ 
p.  p.,  told,  S  51.    O.E. 
tellan. 

ten,  v.,  draw,  tug:  pret. 

3  sg.,  tey,  V  279.    O.E. 
teon. 

tenandrys,  n.,  tenancies: 
pi.,  C  93.  O.F.  tenance, 
tenanche. 

tenant,  n.,  tenant:  pi.,  ten- 
antes,  C  19.  O.F.  te- 
nant. 

tene,  n.,  vexation:  S  158, 
174.  O.E.  teona. 

tere,  n.,  tear:  pi.,  teres,  S 
3585  terys,  C  152.  O.E. 
tear. 


146 


tey,  see  ten. 

fa,  scribal  error  for  >at  (?): 

S  140,  218. 

fan,  dem.  pron.,  see  fat. 
thanke,    v.,    thank',    pres. 

i  sg.,  C  nij  pres.  subj. 

i    pi.,    thanke,    C    227; 

pret.    3   sg.,  thankyd,   C 

*9°>  5°7i  3  pl-»  than- 
kyd, C  179.  O.E.  J>an- 
cian. 

farfore,  see  f  er-fore. 

far-foru,  conj.,  thereby. 
S  346. 

fat,  dem.  pron.,  that:  S 
139,  etc.,  V  1 1 8,  etc., 
C  28,  39,  43,  335,  etc.; 
dat.,  >an,  V  55,  108} 
instr.,  J>e,  S  389,  V  202; 
j>at  =  of  that,  S  51.  O. 
E.  >aet. 

fat,  conj.,  that :  S  1 1,  147, 
etc.,  V  42,  136,  etc., 
C  206,  etc.;  that  a,  C 
236;  until  that,  S  51, 
299;  so  that,  V  42,  75, 
C  75>  77  >  >a>  scribal 
error  (?),  S  218.  O.E. 
tet. 

fat,  rel.  pron.,  that,  fwho: 
S  21,  etc.,  V  119,  etc., 
C  2,  1 6,  23,  48,  etc.; 
that  which,  S  1 65,  V  2  8  5, 
C  287,  513;  )?a,  scribal 


error  (?),  S  140;  warn, 
whom,  8387.  O.E.  >aet, 
hwam. 

fat,  def.  art.,  see  fe. 

fau,  conj.,  though:  S  45, 
55>  97>  104>  etc-j  thoff, 
€70.  O.E.  >eah. 

fe,  pers.  pron.,  see  foil. 

fe,  def.  art.,  the\  nom.,  |>e, 
S  12,  etc.,  V  1  6,  19,  31, 
etc.,  C  49,  157,  etc.; 
the,  C  25,  60,  112,  175, 
etc.j  bat,  S  331,  V  74, 
76,  94;  dat.,  >e,  S  74, 
141,  V  i,  u,  41,  74, 
etc.,  C  9,  39,  etc.;  ac- 
cus.  or  dat.  (?),  J>en,  819, 
22,  299;  accus.  ,  J>ene,  V 
113,  126,  242,  280,  281, 
287;  )>at,  V  75,  78.  O.E. 
se,  seo,  baet,  etc. 

the,  v.,  prosper:  infin.,  C 
538.  O.E.  >eon. 

theder,  see  f  ider. 

fef,  n.,  thief:  V  102.   O.E. 


fei,  pers.  pron.,  they:  nom., 
C  31*  35»  36,  etc.;  they, 
33»  87,  1  1  6,  etc.;  the, 
C  163,  179;  dat.,  >em, 
C  209,  563;  J?eym,  C 
515;  accus.,  >em,  C  430. 
See  hy. 

fen,    conj.,    than:  S   123, 


266,275,  426,  V  8.  O.E. 
J>onne. 

fene,  adv.  &  conj.,  then: 
¥64;  benne,  S  331,  365, 
etc.;  than,  C  23.  O.E. 
bonne.  See  fo. 

fer,  adv.,  there:  V  92,  262, 
etc.,  C  82,  94,  107,  1875 
ber,  V73}bere,V94,  127, 
152,  232,  233;  bare,  V 
33,  i7ij  thore,  C  4435 
thare,  C  470  j  ther,  C 
453,  568,  576,  etc.  O. 
E.  bser. 

J>er,  conj.,  where:  S  21,  23, 
etc.,  V  162.  O.E.  baer. 

fer,  poss.  pron. ,  their:  C 
48,  54,  167,  etc.  5  ther, 
C  575.  O.N.  beirra.  See 
her. 

J?er-by,  adv.,  thereby :  C 
197. 

fer-fore,  adv.  +  conj., 
therefore:  S  196,  V  202, 
C  2275  barfore,  C  580; 
therfor,  C  129;  ber-for, 

C385- 
J?erinne,    adv.,    therein:  V 

28,    78,    85,    126,   234. 

O.E.  baerinne. 
fer-of,  adv.,  thereof:  S   9, 

V  1 8,  24,  249. 
J>er-on,    adv.,    thereon:    C 

2005  ber-one,  €78. 


j>er-to,  adv.  +  conj.,  there- 
to: C  u,  238,  289,  438. 

J?es,  n.,  thighs:  pi.,  S  441. 
O.E.  beoh. 

}>e]?er,  see  J?ider. 

}>ewe,  n.,  propriety:  dat., 
S  72.  O.E.  beaw. 

J?i,  poss.  pron.,  //^:  S  29, 
147,  V  247,  C  113,  115, 
2465  bine,  S  49,  190, 
429,  V  40,  134,  155, 
21 1 j  bin,  S  283,  V  189, 
C  417;  thy,  Cm,  etc. 
O.E.  bin. 

fider,  adv.,  thither:  S  155, 
262,  V  13,  259;  bidere, 
V  268  5  beber,  C  166; 
theder,  C  483.  O.  E. 
bider. 

J?ilke  (be  +  ilke)  :  S  124, 
258,  326,  419,  V  148. 
O.E.  bile. 

}?ing,  n.,  thing:  8325  swete 
bing,  darling,  S  4255  pi., 
thinge,  C  2755  thyng, 
C  iii}  thynges,  €52, 
53.  O.E.  bing. 

thinke,  v.,  think,  intend, 
remember:  infin.,  C  496} 
pres.  i  sg.,  thynke,  C 
527}  pret.  3  sg.,  thou^t, 
€63,  182,  208}  boute,  V 
125}  bohute,  Vi3.  O.E. 
bencan. 


148 


Jnnkef,  see  Jnmche. 
}>is,    dem.    pron.    &    adj., 
this  :    S    27,    217,   289, 

C  !4>  JI3,  ^S,  etc-> 
thys,  C  273,  307,  341, 
4225  pL,  bes,  S  2755  bis, 
C  203.  O.E.  "Ses,  Seos, 
«is. 

J?o,  conj.,  <vuhen,  then:  S 
301,  V  16,  23,  82,  170, 
290,  etc.  O.E.  ba.  Sec 
fen. 

thoff,  see  J?au. 

fohut,  n.,  see  J>out. 

}>onk,  n.,  thanks:  V  158. 
O.E.  >anc,  bone. 

thore,  see  }>er. 

foru,  prep. ,  through :  S  125, 
190;  bar  boru,  346} 
throu^he,  C  391.  O.E. 
burn. 

foil,  pers.  pron. ,  thou :  nom. , 
S  34,  38,  etc.,  V  35,  38, 
etc.,  C  no,  268,  284, 
4115  bo,  82875  thow,  C 
263,269,  412,  436;  dat., 
KS33,  34,  37,40,  130, 
etc.  ,€2875  accus. ,  be,  S 
39,  V  51,  122,  C  iii, 
263,  270,  348;  the,  C 
436.  O.E.  bu,  be.  Seefi 
and  36. 

thoujt,  v.,  see  thinke. 

thou^t,  n.,  see  )>out. 


fousent,   n.,  thousand:  V 

203.   O.E.  busend. 
fout,   n.,    thought:   S  118, 

147,  4305  thou^t,  C  128, 

1485  bohut,  ¥223.  O.E. 

>6ht. 
J?re,    num.,    three:  V  1535 

thre,  C  350.    O.E.  breo. 
throujhe,  see  J>oru. 
thryfte,  n.,  thrift:  C  347, 

466,  478.   O.N.  brift. 
Jnmche,  v.   impers.,   seem: 

infin.,     S  2385    pres.     3 

sg.,  bmkeb,  S  218,  2865 

pret.  3  sg.,  boute,  V  94; 

thoujt,     €516.      O.E. 

byncan. 
]?urst,  n. ,  thirst :  S  3 1  o,  3 1 2, 

V  67.   O.E.  burst. 
Jms,  adv.,  thus:  824,  V 1 58} 

thus,   C  64,   354.     O.E. 

bus. 

thy,  see  J?i. 
thyng,  see  fing. 
fynke,  see  thinke. 
thyrd,  num.,  third:  €286, 

etc.    O.E.  bridda. 
thys,  see  }?is. 
til,  prep.,  until:  8292,  293; 

tyll,    C   573;   to,  S  354. 

O.N.  til. 
tille,   v.,    /*'//:  pres.   subj. 

2  sg.,   S  440.     O.E.  ti- 

lian. 


149 


time, n. , time :  Si 24, ¥2635 
tyme,C4,  113,  etc.  O.E. 
tima. 

to,  prep.,  to-.  S  40,  etc.,  V 
1 7,  etc.,  C  1 6,  etc.  5  until, 
C  74,  163,  512,  564$ 
sign  of  the  infin.,  S  7, 
etc.,  V  6,  etc.,  C  54,  etc. 
O.E.  to. 

to,  adv.,  too:  S  343,  V  81, 
98,  etc.,  C  331,  426. 
O.E.  to. 

to-breke,  v.,  break  down, 
break  to  pieces  :  infin., 
V  63  ;  pret.  part.,  to- 
broke,  V  19.  O.E.  tobre- 
can. 

to-dai,  n.,  to-day:  S  316, 
404. 

togedere,  adv.,  together:  V 
156,  214,  2 1 6  j  togej?er, 
C  167;  to-geder,  C  462. 
O.E.  to-gaedere. 

to-^eines,  prep.,  against: 
V  95.  O.E.  to-geanes. 

tokenyng,  token,  sign:  C 
220,  223,  552.  O.E.  tac- 
nung. 

to-morow,adv.  yto-morroiv : 
C  232  jto-morowe,  0239. 

tong,  n.,  tongue  :  €355. 
O.E.  tunge. 

to  ni}t,  adv.,  io-night:  V 
191. 


torn,  see  tourne. 

toune,  n.,  town:  S  70,  347. 

O.E.  tun. 
tourne,  v.,  tar»:pres.  subj. 

3Sg.,Si47}  imper.  z  sg. 

torn,   S   109,    1135  pret. 

part.,  turnd,  8430.    O.E. 

tyrnan,  turnian. 
to-werd,  prep.,  toward:  C 

88.    O.E.  toweard. 
traueyled,    v.,     travelled: 

pret.  3  sg.,   C  16.    O.F. 

travailer. 
traueyll,    n.,    labor,  jour- 

ney:  C  352.   O.F.  travail. 
tre,    n.,  tree:  €218,  pi., 

treys,  C  206.  O.E.  treow. 
treie,   n.,   affliction,  grief: 

S  158.    O.E.  trega. 
treuly,  adv.,  truly:  €29, 

105,  i43itrewly,  €1425 

treulye,    C  2285  trew,  C 

490.    O.E.  treowlice. 
trewe,   adj.,    true:    S  95, 

1215  trew,    C  77,    125, 

3085   compar.,  trewer,  S 

122.  O.E.  treowe,  try  we. 
trinyte,  n.,  Trinity.  €202. 

O.F.  trinite. 
troupe,  n.,   truth:    S  252. 

O.E.  treowfl. 
trouue,  v.,  believe:  pres.  i 

sg. ,  S  3695  2  sg.,  troustu, 

S  370.   O.E.  truwian. 


150 


trumper,  n*, trumpeter :pl., 

trumpers,   C   100.    O.F. 

trompeor,  trompere,  &c. 
truse,    v.,   pack:    C    348. 

O.F.  trosser,  trouser. 
twake,  v.,  thwack:  infin., 

€358.    O.N.  >jokka. 
twenti,    num.,    twenty:   S 

270.    O.E.  twentig. 
two,  num. ,  t<uuo :  V  3 2,  C  8  3, 

i73J    tuo,  V    73.     O.E. 

twa. 
tyde,  n.,  time:  €90,  188. 

O.E.  tld. 
tyll,  see  til. 
tyne,  see  time. 

uaile,  v.,  avail,  assist-,  in- 
fin., Si88.  O.F.valoir. 

valew,  n.,  value:  C  76. 
O.F.  value. 

vansyd,  v.,  advanced:  pret. 
3  sg.,  C  569.  O.E.  avan- 
cer. 

vend,  v.,  see  wende. 

verament,  adv.,  verily, 
truly:  C  189,  237.  O.F. 
verablement. 

vif,  n.,  ivoman:  883.  O.E. 
wif. 

vilani,  n.,  baseness,  shame, 
the  opposite  to  curteisi: 
Si28;uilani,  8250.  O.F. 
vilainie. 


vilte,  n.,  meanness,  shame: 
S  47.  O.F.  vilte. 

vind,  v.,find:  pres.  3  sg., 
V  253.  O.E.  findan. 

vn-couered,  v.,  uncovered: 
pret.  3sg.,  C373.  O.F. 
cuvrir,  covrir. 

vnder,  prep.,  under:  S  5. 
O.E.  under. 

vnderneth,  prep.,  under- 
neath: C  194. 

vnto,  prep.,  unto:  C  144, 
386. 

volf,  vuolf,  see  wolf. 

vow,  n.,vo<w :  C  522.  O.F. 
veu,  vou. 

vox,  n.,fox:  V  i,  1 6,  8 1, 
96,  107,  113,  123,  127, 
I31*  ^9*  J57,  176,  188, 
196,  221,  231,  238,  239, 
242,  245,  2605  wox,  V 
12,  33,  37,  293.  O.E. 
fox. 

vp,  adv.,  up:  C  166,  244, 
278,  3105  vppe,  C  97. 
O.E.  up,  upp. 

vpon,  prep.,  upon:  C  57, 
218,  etc.  O.E.  uppon. 

vpstond,  v.,  stand  up:  in- 
fin., C  197. 

vs,  see  we. 

vsscher,  n.,  door-keeper:  C 
310,  313,  460.  O.F.  us- 
sier. 


Vter,  pr.  n. :  C  4. 
vy  set,  v.,  *;/.«/:  infin.,  023. 
O.F.  visiter. 

waie,  n.,  way:  S  i;wei,  S 

3955  wey,  V   5,   C  159, 

254.    O.K.  weg. 
wakese,  v.,  grow,  wax: 

infin!,     S    i8aj   wex,    C 

151.    O.E.  weaxan. 
wal,     n.,     wall :    V     10, 

19  ;  walle,  V  n.      O.E. 

weall. 
walken,  v.,  walk:  pret.  3 

sg.  walkyd,  C  97.    O.E. 

wealcan. 
wane,  see  fat. 
wanten,    v.,    want,   lack: 

pret.  3  pi. ,  wantyd,  C  1 1 6. 

O.N.  vanta. 
war,  inter,  adv.,  where-.  V 

137.  O.E.  hwser. 
warm,    adj.,    warm\  pi., 

warme,      S     225.    O.E. 

wearm. 
warryng,     n.,  denying-.  C 

439- 
war-to,   inter,    adv.,   why: 

s  313- 

waschen,  v.,  wash:  pret.  3 
pi.,  wesch,  C  154.  O.E. 
waescan,  waxsan,  etc. 

wat,  inter,  pron.,  what:  S 
29,  64,  etc.,  ¥33,  152, 


etc.;   what,  S  172,091. 

O.E.  hwaet. 
wat,  rel.  pron.,  that  which: 

C  126.     O.E.  hwset. 
wat,    indef.    pron.,   what: 

V  89.    O.E.  hwset. 
wat,    adv.,  why  :    V  163. 

O.E.  hwaet. 
•wat,  interj. :   S  235,    285. 

O.E.  hwaet. 
water,   n.,  water:     V  92, 

93,  94.    O.E.  waster, 
way,  see  weien. 
we,    interj.,   alas:    S    115. 

O.E.  wa,  O.N.  vei. 
we,  pers.  pron.,  we-.  C  139, 

141,  etc.;  ouer,  C   139, 

218,  221;  owre,  C  143; 

vs,  €57,  140,  174,  etc. 

O.E.  we,  ure,  us. 
wedded,   part,  adj.,    wed- 
ded-. S  8;  wedde,  S  137; 

wedyd,     C    125.      O.E. 

weddian. 
wede,  n., garments:  pi.,  C 

327.    O.E.  wsed. 
wede,  n.,  pledge,  mortgage: 

C  62.    O.E.  wedd. 
weder,   adv.,  whither:    V 

244,  245.    O.E.  hwider, 

hwaeder. 
weien,  v.,  'weigh:    pret.  3 

sg-,  way,   V   237.    O.E. 

wegan. 


152 


wel,  adv.,  very  much  :  S  1 3, 
82,  94j  wry,  V  16,  66, 
*48,  C337;  w*//,  8212, 
226,  C  126,  127,  141, 
280.  O.E.  wel. 

welcome,  adj.,  welcome: 
S  26,  255,  425  ;  wel- 
comen,  S  167;  compar., 
welcomore,  S  426.  O.E. 
wilcuma,  n. 

welde,  v.,  wield,  rule:  in- 
fm.,  S  83,  146,  3255 
pres.  3  sg.,  weld,  C  56. 
O.E.  wealdan. 

welpe,  n.,  whelp:  S  2875 
welp,  S  372.  O.E.  hwelp. 

wen,  conj.,  when:  S  198, 
V  75,  268;wenne,  inter- 
rog.,  S  284, V  1515  when, 
C  49,  88,  etc.;  whenj?at, 
C  496.  O.E.  hwaenne, 
hwonne. 

wende,  v.  tr.,  turn:  S  118, 
151,181.  O.E.  wendan. 

wende,  v.  inter.  &  reflex., 
turn,  wend,  go  :  pret.  3 
sg. ,  wend,  817;  wente,  S 
149;  wente  him,  S  19, 
155;  wente  hire,  S  406; 
pret.  3  pi.,  wente,  C  8oj 
pret.  part.,  wend,  8345; 
wende,  gone,  V  74;  vend, 
come,  V  159.  O.E. 
wendan. 


wene,  v.,  ween,  believe: 
pres.  i  sg. ,  V  1285  pret. 
i  sg.,  wende,  V  217-, 
pret.  3  sg. ,  wende,  V  2  7  5 } 
wend,  €405;  pret.  part., 
I-wend,  V  134.  O.E. 
wenan. 

wenne,  n.,joy,  bliss:  S  26. 
O.E.  wynn. 

wepen,  n.,  weep:  pret.  3 
sg.,  wep,  V  107;  wepyd, 
C  95,  1 06.  O.E.  wepan, 
weop. 

wepne,  n.,  weapon:  V 
286.  O.E.  wsepen. 

wer,  conj.,  ivhere:  S  284, 
C  47;  wer  >at,  C  567. 
O.E.  hw§er. 

were,  v.,  wear:  infin.,  C 
554i  p^t.  3  pi.,  weryd, 
C  327.  O.E.  werian. 

werk,  n.,otw£:pl.,werkes, 
S  245.  O.E.  weorc. 

werld,  see  world. 

wer-mide,  adv.,  where- 
with: V  1 12. 

wern,  v.  deny,  refuse :  inf. , 
€464,473.  O.E.wiernan. 

wernyng,  v.  n.,  refusal: 
C  316. 

werre,  n.,war :  C  1 6-  O.  F. 
werre. 

wes,  was,  ves,  were, 
weren,  v.,  see  be. 


153 


werf,  v.,  see  worj>e. 

wesch,  see  waschen. 

weste,  v.,  see  wite. 

wex,  v.,  see  wakese. 

wey,  see  waie. 

what,  see  wat. 

what    J?at    euer,     pron., 

whatever:  C  364,  415. 
when,  see  wen. 
where-for,  conj. :  C  510. 
whej>er,  conj.,  whether-.  C 

35,      288,     308.      O.E. 

hwaefter. 
who,   inter,    pron.,    who  : 

€329.    O.E.  hwa. 
wi,  conj.,  why:  S  64,  3155 

why,  €510.    O.E.  hwy. 
wicchecrafft,    n.,    witch- 
craft: S  206.  O.E.  wicce- 

craeft. 
wiche,  v.,  use  witchcraft: 

infin.,     S     353.       O.E. 

wiccian. 
widewene,     n.,    widow. 

gen.    pi.,    widewene,   V 

201.    O.E.  widwe,  wid- 

uwe. 
wif,   n.,  woman,    wife:    S 

«7>    I2I>    3*5,    v    1545 
wiue,  V  212,  228;  wyfe, 
•  C    77,     83,     122,     etc.; 
wyflf,  C    25;   pi.,  wiues, 
S  303.      O.E.  wif. 
wiis,  see  wis. 


wiit,  n.,  *wit,  intelligence: 
V  70,  124.  O.E.  wit[t]. 

wile,  conj.,  while:  S  70, 
438.  O.E.  hwllum. 

wile,  n.,  time:  S  103,  444. 
O.E.  hwil. 

Wilekin,  pr.  n.  :  S  43,  229, 
*36>  *55»  386»4oo,  409, 
423,  425,  427;  Wile- 
kinne,  S  407. 

wille,  v.,  will:  pres.  i  sg., 
S  87,  etc.,  V  131,  146, 
231;  wile,  S  191,  241; 
wote,  V  175$  wyll,  C 
^39>  3975  *  sg.,  wolt, 
S  2415  woltoce,  V  1965 
wyll,  C  415;  3  sg., 
wolle,  S  369;  wyll,  C 
287;  pret.  i  sg.,  wolde, 
S334»43I>Vl79i  wold, 
C  120,  528;  3  sg.,  wolde, 
S  238,  V  46,  171;  wold, 
C  19,  20,  23,  etc.  ;  2  pi., 
wold,  C  513;  3  pi., 
wold,  C  465  pret.  subj. 

1  sg.  ,  wolde,  S  64,  V  1  7  9  ; 

2  sg.,  woldest,    S    172; 

3  sg.,  wolde,  S  131,  238. 
O.E.  willan. 

wille,  n.,  will  :  S  29,  etc., 


41, 


€407.    O.E.  willa. 
willi  (wille  +  I),  S  35, 
etc. 


154 


wimmon,  n.,  woman  :  S 
8;  womon,  S  122;  wi- 
mon,  S  2055  p4. ,  wim- 
men,  V  85  O.E.  wlfman. 

winde,  v.  intr.,  wind, 
turn,  go  :  infin.,  V  765 
pret.  3  sg.,  wond,  V  22. 
O.E.  windan. 

winne,  n.,  see  wenne. 

wis,  adj.,  wise  :  S  45  wiis, 
V  105.  O.E.  wis. 

wise,  n.,  wise,   manner:  S 

J5>  v  3-      °-E-  wlse- 

wite,  v.,  know,  infin.,  S 
29>  3°75  Pres-  l  sg.,  wot, 
S  284,  V  191  j  pret.  i  sg., 
weste,  S  79,  237;  pret. 
3sg.,weste,  8220,  V59, 
238  ;  wyst,  C28o.  O.E. 
witan. 

witerli,  adv.,  certainly:  S 
232.  O.N.  vitrliga. 

wi)>,  prep.,  with :  823, 
174,  etc.}  wiz,  S  162; 
with,  C  54,  8 1,  82; 
wyth,  C  502,  5785  by 
means  of,  S  2075  wil>  J?at, 
provided  that,  S  192, 
226,  386;  toward,  V 
247.  O.E.  wiK 

with-draw,  v. :  infin.,  C 
263;imper.  2sg.,C  332. 

wif-houten,  prep.,  with- 
out :  S  36,  96  j  wij>- 


houte,  S  392  j  wftouten, 

V  25,    142;  with-outen, 

C   273,  3905  with-oute, 

C    264 }    with-outyn,    C 

50,  299;  with-out,  C  297, 

316;  with-owtyn,  C  459. 

O.E.  wibutan. 
wijrinne,      adv.,     within: 

V  n.     O.E.  wiHnnan. 
wiz,  prep.,  see  wij>. 
wo,   inter,  pron.,  who:    V 

122,  127.      O.E.  hwa. 
wo,  n.,  woe  :  S  303,  V  2, 

53,  ete.,  C  90.  O.E.  wa. 
wo,    adj.,  cwoeful:  S   298, 

379.  >at  me  is  wo  =  '  I  am 

sorry/  S  379.    O.E.  wa. 
wod,    adj.,   mad  :    S   182, 

286,  V  258.    O.E.  wod. 
wode,  n.,  wood,  forest:  V 

i,  109.     O.E.  wudu. 
wold,  v.,  see  wille. 
woldi(wold-t-i),  S  88,243, 

etc. 
•wolf,    n.,    wolf:    V    1 08, 

118,  129,  137,  150,  etc.; 

volf,    V  148  ;    vuolf,    V 

221;  wolfe,  V  181.  O.E. 

wulf. 
woltou    (wolt  -\-  )>ou),     V 

186,  196. 
won,  n.,  dwelling  :   S   21. 

Cf.  O.E.  (ge)wuna,  wu- 

nian,  wunung. 


155 


won,  n.,  quantity,  store:  S 
132. 

won,  adj.,  see  wonte. 

wond,  v.,  see  winde. 

wonde,  v.,  turn  aside,  hesi- 
tate :  S  138,  C  120.  O. 
E.  wandian. 

wonder,  n.,  wonder-.  S 
359.  O.E.  wundor. 

wone,  n.,  hope,  thought:  C 
319.  O.N.  van. 

wone,  n.  v.,  dwell :  pret. 
3  sg.,  wonede,  S  20  j 
pret.  3  pi.,  woneden,  V 
262$  pret.  part.,  woned, 
accustomed,  used,  wont, 
V  105.  O.E.  wunian. 
See  wonte. 

wonne,  v. ,  won :  pret.  part. , 
858.  O.E.  winnan. 

wonte,  adj.,  wont:  €915 
won,  C  112.  O.E.  wu- 
nod. 

word,  n.,  word:  S  240,  V 
132,  C  367  j  pi.,  word, 
S  1595  wordes,  V  148, 
€406.  O.E.  word. 

world,  n.,  world:  S  2435 
worlde,  V  162,  1635 
werld,  C  145  gen.  sg., 
worldes,  V  161.  O.E. 
weorold. 

worschype,  n.,  worship, 
honor:  C  39,  56 j  wyr- 


schyp,  €79.   O.E.  weor)>- 

scipe. 
worschypped,  p.  p.  a.,  hon- 

ored :  C  414. 
worse,  wors,  adj.,  worse, 

S    378,    V    202.     O.E. 

wyrs. 
worfe,  v.,  become:  pres.    i 

sg.,  worbe,  V  1915  pres. 

3  sg.,  worf>,  V  2985  pres. 

subj.  3  sg.,  worj>e,  8213, 

V  96  j  pret.  3   sg.,  werj>, 

V  66.    O.E.  weorban. 
wose,  pron.,  whoso  :  S  4455 

wose-euer,    S    361.    Cf. 

O.E.  swahwaswa. 
wot,  v.,  see  wite. 
wou,  n.,  ^wrong:  896.    O. 

E.  woh. 
wouing,    v.,    plying:    n., 

wooing:     S    125.      O.E. 

wogian. 
wous,    adj.,    ready:  V   12. 

O.E.  fus. 
wox,  see  vox. 
wraJ?J?en,  v.,  make  angry: 

infin.,  S  41.    O.E.  (ge)- 

wraHan. 
wrecche,    n.,  wretch:     S 


V  288.    O.E.  wrecca. 
wrenche,  n.,  trick,  artifice: 

dat.,  V  84.    O.E.  wrenc. 
wringen,  v.,  wing:  pret.  3 


I56 


106. 


sg.,  wrong,  C    95, 

O.E.  wringan. 
wrogge,    n.,    frog-,      pi., 

wroggen,  V    256.    O.E. 

frogga. 

wroj?,  adj.,  angry.  V  220. 
wro)?e,  adv.,    angrily.     V 

291.  O.E.  wraft. 
wrong,  n.,  wrong:  S  10. 

O.E.  wrang. 
wroug,  see  wringen. 
wrout,  p.p.,  see  wyV'che. 
wyde,    adj.,  <wide\  093. 

O.E.  wid. 

wyfe,  wyfe,  see  wif. 
wyght,  adj.,  nimble ',  strong: 

C  3,   295,    537;     wy?ht, 

C   33.     O.N.    vlgr,    m., 

vigt,  n. 
wylde,   adj.,  wild:  pi.,  C 

1 1 6.  O.E.  wilde. 
wylle,  n.,  see  will, 
wyneng,  v.  n.,  winning, 

gain:  C  317. 


wyped,  v.,  wiped,  pret.  3 
sg.,  C  152.  O.  E.  wlpian. 

wyrche,  v.,  work,  perform  : 
inf.,  C  1645  p-  ?•>  wrout, 
S  1  1  2  j  wrought,  C  2  1  3  }  i- 
wrought,  C  342.  O.E. 
wycran. 

wyst,  see  wite. 

wytte,  n.,  wight,  man:  C 
521.  O.E.  wiht. 

Y,  see  wite. 

ybe,  yboujt,  ydi}t,  ydon, 

etc.,    see  be,   bie,   dijt, 

don,  etc. 
ye,  demonstr.  pron.,  instru- 

mental     case:     C    236. 

O.E.  >e,  by. 
y^oue,  v.,   pret.  part.,    see 


y-nou^,  see  nou. 
y-slawe,  v.,  pret.  part.,  sec 

slo. 
ywis,  adv.,  seewis. 


,    / 


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